IT Support

Vincent Cable: To ask the Leader of the House how much the contract for IT support for hon. Members cost in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: The total cash cost of Members IT (including the contract currently held by Dell and previously held by Computacenter) has been:
	
		
			  Members' IT equipment and support 
			   Amount (£) 
			 2002-03 1,230 
			 2003-04 792 
			 2004-05 725 
			 2005-06 2,094 
		
	
	Desk top IT equipment has a life expectancy of around four years. The spend profile will reflect major upgrade and replacement programmes; for example, the 2005 general election gave rise to the higher spend on Members' IT equipment in 2005-06.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received payment from the Financial Assistance Scheme; and how many payments have been made from the scheme in each month for which figures are available.

James Purnell: As at 17 November 2006, the Financial Assistance Scheme had paid 557 people.44 more people will be paid as soon as they have confirmed their personal details and a further 133 have been assessed and will be paid when they reach age 65.
	The following monthly figures are available up to and including 17 November 2006:
	
		
			  Number of payments—December 2005 to October 2006 
			   New payments  Cumulative total 
			  2005   
			 December 13 13 
			  2006   
			 January 2 15 
			 February 12 27 
			 March 5 32 
			 April 11 43 
			 May 43 86 
			 June 58 144 
			 July 66 210 
			 August 76 286 
			 September 108 394 
			 October 60 454 
			 November(1) 103 557 
			 Total 557  
			 (1) Up to 17th.

Pension Credit

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in each ward of Wantage constituency are in receipt of pension credit.

James Purnell: The answer is in the following table.
	
		
			  Households in receipt of pension credit in each ward of Wantage constituency—May 2006 
			  Ward name  Households 
			 Brightwell 65 
			 Cholsey and Wallingford South 115 
			 Didcot All Saints 160 
			 Didcot Ladygrove 45 
			 Didcot Northbourne 135 
			 Didcot Park 240 
			 Hagbourne 65 
			 Wallingford North 250 
			 Appleton and Cumnor 140 
			 Blewbury and Upton 50 
			 Craven 80 
			 Drayton 75 
			 Faringdon and The Coxwells 275 
			 Greendown 60 
			 Grove 160 
			 Hanneys 50 
			 Harwell 80 
			 Hendreds 120 
			 Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor 35 
			 Longworth 60 
			 Marcham and Shippon 70 
			 Shrivenham 115 
			 Stanford 85 
			 Sunningwell and Wootton 130 
			 Sutton Courtenay and Appleford 80 
			 Wantage Charlton 215 
			 Wantage Segsbury 100 
			 Wantage constituency total 2,780 
			  Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to a multiple of five. 2. Only part of Appleton and Cumnor and Sunningwell and Wooton wards are in Wantage parliamentary constituency. 3. Because of 1. and 2., wards will not always sum to constituency totals. 4. Wards are based on 2003 ward boundaries. 5. Households recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.  Source: DWP 100 per cent. data: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Pensioner Households (Bristol, East)

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioner households in Bristol, East constituency are receiving  (a) pension credit and  (b) pension savings credit; and what the(i) highest and (ii) average amount awarded is.

James Purnell: The requested information is below.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of households in receipt of Pension Credit by type in Bristol, East and the average weekly payments—May 2006 
			  Type of pension credit  Number of household recipients  Average weekly payments (£) 
			 Guarantee credit only 1,550 80.74 
			 Savings credit only 1,020 12.05 
			 Guarantee credit and savings credit 2,350 46.16 
			 All 4,920 49.96 
			  Notes: 1. The pension credit is made up of two elements, guarantee credit and savings credit. An individual can receive one or both guarantee credit and savings credit. 2. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the 2005 postcode directory. 4. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household. 5. Average weekly payments are shown as pounds per week and rounded to the nearest penny.  Source: DWP 100 per cent. data: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: The highest award amounts for pension credit in Bristol, East—May 2006 
			  Type of pension credit  £ 
			 Guarantee credit 174.05 
			 Savings credit 23.58 
			  Source: DWP Information Directorate: five per cent. sample data

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of the basic state pension in each quarter from the first quarter of 1990 to the third quarter of 2006; how many lived abroad in each period; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The information requested is not available. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		
			   GB total  Overseas total 
			 March 2006 10,429,200 973,900 
			 September 2005 10,416,200 964,100 
			 March 2005 10,450,300 971,900 
			 September 2004 10,408,800 964,800 
			 March 2004 10,313,400 948,400 
			 September 2003 10,291,500 931,000 
			 March 2003 10,225,800 912,400 
			 September 2002 10,197,400 895,300 
			 March 2002 10,149,300 872,600 
			 September 2001 10,146,500 870,400 
			 March 2001 10,087,200 850,800 
			 September 2000 10,069,600 842,400 
			 March 2000 10,034,000 826,100 
			 September 1999 10,013,200 821,100 
			 March 1999 9,938,800 792,200 
			 September 1998 — — 
			 March 1998 9,839,400 773,600 
			 September 1997 9,800,700 759,400 
			 March 1997 9,700,400 747,500 
			 September 1996 9,680,500 731,800 
			 March 1996 9,575,400 718,900 
			 September 1 995 9,548,200 703,200 
			 March 1995 9,469,300 685,200 
			  Notes: 1. Data are taken from 5 per cent. sample, therefore figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload from the WPLS. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. 3. No data for September 1998 are available. 4. Basic state pension data are not available prior to March 1995.  Source: DWP Information Directorate

Pensions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the timetable is for reinstating the earnings link for uprating the basic state pension.

James Purnell: The White Paper "Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system" states that the earnings link will be restored to the basic state pension. The objective is that this will be done, subject to affordability and the fiscal position, in 2012 but in any event at the latest by the end of the next Parliament. We have said that we will make a statement on the precise date at the beginning of the next Parliament.
	This commitment is set out in the Pensions Bill which was published on 29 November.

Winter Fuel Payment

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of the winter fuel payment was in each year since its introduction, in  (a) cash terms and  (b) real terms using 2004-05 prices.

James Purnell: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Value of winter fuel payments 
			   Cash terms (£)  Real terms using 2004-05 prices (£) 
			 1997-98 (not in receipt of income-related benefit) 20 24 
			 1997-98 (in receipt of income-related benefit) 50 59 
			 1998-99 (not in receipt of income-related benefit) 20 23 
			 1998-99 (in receipt of income-related benefit) 50 58 
			 1999-2000 100 113 
			 2000-01 200 223 
			 2001-02 200 218 
			 2002-03 200 212 
			 2003-04 ( 60-79 age rate) 200 206 
			 2003-04 (80 or over age rate) 300 308 
			 2004-05 (60-79 age rate) 200 200 
			 2004-05 (80 or over age rate) 300 300 
			 2005-06 (60-79 age rate) 200 196 
			 2005-06 (80 or over age rate) 300 294 
			 2006-07 (60-79 age rate) 200 192 
			 2006-07 (80 or over age rate) 300 287 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for 1997-98 to 2005-06 obtained using GDP deflator series from ONS. 2. Figures for 2006-07 obtained using HM Treasury assumptions. 3. For the years 1997-98 and 1998-99 the winter fuel payment was 20 or 50 for people receiving a pensioner premium in the income-related benefits. 4. The extra £100 for people aged 80 or over was introduced in winter 2003-04.

Winter Fuel Payment

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people  (a) between 60 and79 years and  (b) aged 80 years or over qualified for(i) the lower rate and (ii) the upper rate of winter fuel payments in each year since its introduction.

James Purnell: Information relating to winter fuel payments for the winters of 1997-98 and 1998-99 is not available. The information from 1999-2000 is in the following table.
	An age breakdown is only available from winter 2002-03. The higher rate winter fuel payment of up to an additional £100 to people aged 80 or over was introduced in winter 2003-04.
	
		
			   Age  Number of lower rate payments made(£200/£100)  Number of higher rate payments made (additional £100/£50) 
			 1999-2000 60 or over 10,084,130 n/a 
			 2000-01 60 or over 11,105,750 n/a 
			 2001-02 60 or over 11,201,900 n/a 
			 2002-03 60-79 9,062,370 n/a 
			  80 or over 2,285,670 n/a 
			 2003-04 60-79 9,132,830 0 
			  80 or over 2,335,410 2,335,410 
			 2004-05 60-79 9,087,940 0 
			  80 or over 2,313,240 2,313,240 
			 2005-06 60-79 9,188,340 0 
			  80 or over 2,342,780 2,342,780 
			 n/a = not applicable  Source:  Information Directorate 100 per cent. sample.

Winter Fuel Payment

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of winter fuel payments were made to recipients in  (a) November,  (b) December,  (c) January and  (d) February and after in each year since its introduction.

James Purnell: The vast majority of winter fuel payments are made automatically throughout the month of November. Additional payment runs are made in December, February, March and June for customers who make a successful claim for a winter fuel payment before the cut off date of 31 March.
	Information on the proportion of payments made for the years 1997-98 to 2000-01 is not available. Information on the years from 2001-02 is in the following table.
	
		
			  Month of payment  Proportion of payments made (per cent.) 
			  2001-02  
			 November 99.31 
			 December 0 
			 February 1.18 
			 March 0.31 
			 June 0.20 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 November 99.20 
			 December 0.28 
			 February 0.29 
			 March 0.18 
			 June 0.05 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 November 99.28 
			 December 0.25 
			 February 0.19 
			 March 0.17 
			 June 0.11 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 November 99.46 
			 December 0.15 
			 February 0.15 
			 March 0.12 
			 June 0.12 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 November 99.14 
			 December 0.41 
			 February 0.18 
			 March 0.13 
			 June 0.14 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for this year's payments are not yet available. 2. The December payment run was introduced in 2002-03.  Source:  Annual EDS payment statistics, as supplied to the winter fuel planning and Implementation Team.

Court Cases

Margaret Moran: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cases were not proceeded with at court as a result of non-appearance of Crown Prosecution Service witnesses in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) Luton in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: The following table shows the number of defendants whose case resulted in an unsuccessful outcome because a prosecution witness failed to attend court unexpectedly in each of the last three years.
	
		
			   CPS England and Wales  CPS Luton 
			 2004-05 8,473 102 
			 2005-06 8,408 138 
			 2006-07(1) 5,905 78 
			 (1 )1 April to 4 December 2006.

Meetings

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions he has met the  (a) chair and  (b) chief executive of (i) British Waterways, (ii) the Environment Agency and (iii) Natural England since July 2006; and where each meeting took place.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 5 December 2006
	The Secretary of State has met the chair and/or chief executive of British Waterways on 25 July, 4 September and 23 November on each occasion in London.
	He has met the chair and/or chief executive on the Environment Agency on 25 July, 27 July, 4 September, 6 September, 17 October, 8 November, 9 November,20 November and 23 November on each occasion in London.
	He has met the chair and/or chief executive of Natural England on 4 September, 11 October,7 November and 23 November on each occasion in London.
	He has also seen other members and practical examples of the work of these organisations while on regional visits.

Woodland

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the cost of an acre of woodland in each year since 1988; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Comprehensive statistics on woodland prices are not available. Unlike agricultural land price statistics, the value of woodland incorporates the changing value of the timber growing stock, as well as the underlying land value and specific factors that attract buyers. Since 1993 the Forestry Commission's annual reports and accounts have shown a total value for the Public Forest Estate, which has been independently valued every five years since then. This is best indication we have of the changing cost of woodland over time. The open market values and the area of forest are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   1993  1998  2003 
			 GB area (thousand hectares) 882 834 787 
			 Value (£ million) 1,413 1,482 819 
			 Unit value (£ per hectare) 1,602 1,777 1,041 
			  Note: One hectare equals 2.471 acres

Clinton Foundation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds and assistance his Department has made available to the Clinton Foundation; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has provided £1 million to the Clinton Foundation in India for the training of physicians as part of the treatment roll out.
	We have worked closely with the foundation in the a number of areas; in ensuring the effective use of a grant from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in the Caribbean, and in relation to UNITAID, an international drug purchasing facility to negotiate the reduction in price of essential medicines. The UK is a founding member country of UNITAID, and has made a 20-year commitment, which starts with €20 million in 2007, and subject to performance, rises to €60 million by 2010. Last week, the Clinton Foundation negotiated lower prices for HIV/AIDS treatment with $35 million of UNITAID money.

Displaced People: Vahari

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to ensure that food, fuel and medical supplies organised by the United Nations reaches displaced Sri Lankans in the Vahari area.

Gareth Thomas: The UK is in regular contact with the Sri Lankan Government, the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN agencies about the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka.
	The UK Government have expressed serious concerns over the humanitarian situation in Vakarai and other conflict affected areas of the country and the need for all parties to the conflict to ensure regular and sustained access for humanitarian deliveries. We fully support the statement by the co-chairs of the peace process (EU, Japan, Norway, US) that there should be an immediate, permanent and unconditional opening of routes for humanitarian convoys of essential supplies.
	We welcome the announcement that a convoy of food stuffs and other supplies had reached the Vakarai area on 29 November. However not all the vehicles in the original convoy were allowed to enter the area and this convoy was the first for several weeks. Much more needs to be done.

HIV/AIDS

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS policies in  (a) India and  (b) Thailand.

Gareth Thomas: The Government of India's National AIDS Programme (NACP) began in 1992, and the second phase of the programme (NACP 2) will run until March 2007. Key achievements under NACP2 include the establishment of 1,033 focused prevention interventions among vulnerable groups, 875 voluntary counselling and testing centres and 679 sexually transmitted disease clinics at the district level.
	Currently, only half of the populations at greatest risk of infection (sex workers, men having sex with men and injecting drugs users) are currently covered by prevention interventions. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) was introduced by the programme in 2004 but the roll out has been slow and serious issues of access, adherence, and capacity remain. By May 2006, only 32,000 people were covered by the free treatment programme.
	Yet, there is emerging evidence that the strategy of concentrating on focused interventions among those at highest risk is having an impact in states in the south.A recent analysis of HIV data from 216 antenatal clinics and 132 sexually transmitted infection clinics for 2000-04 suggest that HIV prevalence among women aged 15-24 years in southern states declined from1.7 per cent. in 2000 to 1.1 per cent. in 2004. HIV infection levels also fell among men aged 20-29 years who attended sexually transmitted infection clinics in the south.
	In Thailand, Government policy is to provide Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) to all those in need as part of the national Health Insurance scheme. This has contributed to Thailand's successful high treatment coverage rates. There has been concern that Thailand has failed to maintain initial HIV prevention successes. There are now worrying increases in infection prevalence rates in young people, married women and men who have sex with men. The Government recently announced that they would increase investment in this area with the aim of reducing new infections by 50 per cent. by 2010, but has not yet presented plans for this. Continued high levels of stigma and discrimination remain a major barrier to an effective response.

Medicine Distribution

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the charitable distribution of unused in date medicines to developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: DFID recognises that some organisations play a helpful role in seeking to improve health care in developing countries by donating medicines. However, donations do not provide a sustainable solution to the general, long-term needs for essential medicines in developing countries.
	The UK Government believe that long term solutions must involve the development of sustainable markets for pharmaceutical products in developing countries. DFID provides support and finance to help developing countries purchase the drugs they need, benefit from lower prices through mechanisms such as UNITAID, increase the range of medicines available and strengthen the capacity of health services to deliver them.

Afghanistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Government of  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iran on the (i) legal and (ii) cultural status of women in those countries.

Kim Howells: The UK has regular discussions with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and supports the efforts of the EU Special Representative on the implementation of human rights, including women's rights, in Afghanistan.
	Afghan women, excluded by the Taliban, now play an active part in everyday life in Afghanistan. Their equality is enshrined in the Afghan Constitution, which also protects their right to participate in Afghan political life. 27 per cent. of seats in the Lower House of the Afghan parliament are held by women. Women also enjoy equal access to the Afghan education system. 37 per cent. of students in Afghanistan are girls and a third of teachers are women. 19 per cent. of students enrolled in higher education are women. In addition, the Constitution requires the Government to uphold its obligations under international law. Rape and forced marriage are prohibited by Afghanistan's obligations under the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, both of which Afghanistan has ratified. That said, securing the full participation of Afghan women in all sectors of the economy and society will take time and we acknowledge serious problems remain. We remain committed to working with the Afghan Government and its international partners to improve women's ability to exercise their rights.
	Although the situation of women in Iran is in some respects better than in other countries in the region, we remain concerned about the discrimination faced by women in Iran. Domestic violence remains a serious problem, women's participation in the labour forceis low and women continue to face significant discrimination in the legal system. For example, the evidence of a woman is worth less than that of a man in court, and women do not enjoy equal rights in cases involving divorce, inheritance or the custody of children.
	We raise women's rights and other human rights concerns regularly with the Iranian authorities, bilaterally and through the EU. We were pleased that all EU countries co-sponsored a draft resolution at this year's UN General Assembly, approved by Third Committee on 21 November, which expressed serious concern at the continuing violence and discrimination against women and girls, and called upon the Iranian Government to
	"eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls".

Afghanistan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the government of Afghanistan on tackling violence against women in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: The UK has regular discussions with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and supports the efforts of the EU Special Representative on the implementation of human rights, including women's rights, in Afghanistan. The Afghan Constitution requires the Afghan government to uphold its obligations under international law. Afghanistan is a party to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which prohibit rape and forced marriage. Challenges remain but we are committed to assist the Afghan Government in the implementation of its international obligations.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), through the Global Opportunities Fund (GOF), is sponsoring a number of projects specifically designed to empower women, by increasing their access to justice, improving their living standards, promoting their equal participation in governance, creating a professional network of women's rights organisations and promoting access to information through the radio. Through the GOF, the FCO supports the UK Bar Human Rights Committee project of human rights training for legal practitioners with a specific focus on women's rights (£240,000 over three years). Other projects include Global Rights: Women's Rights Advocacy in Afghanistan which will produce a report on violations of women's rights focusing on domestic violence and a parallel report on CEDAW implementation (£165,000); and Action Aid: Afghan Women Affecting Change which aims to create a professional network of women's rights organisations (£157,000).

Bangladesh

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of recent protests against President Iajuddin Ahmed in Dhaka.

Kim Howells: We understand that the protests relate to President Iajuddin Ahmed's assumption of the office of Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government and his performance in that office as the Caretaker Government prepares for Bangladesh's general elections due in January 2007. The Caretaker Government must be judged on its ability to provide an environment conducive for holding free, fair, peaceful and accepted elections while acting in an inclusive, transparent and non-partisan way. We call on the parties to engage constructively and responsibly with the Caretaker Government to achieve this.

Bangladesh

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of recent claims by the Awami League of bias by local officials and electoral register tampering in the run-up to Bangladeshi elections.

Kim Howells: It is vital that the Bangladesh general elections are free, fair, peaceful and accepted by the people of Bangladesh and by the international community. The legitimacy of the next Government is dependent on the conduct of these elections. Recent election evaluation missions by UN, EU and United States have consistently identified important points that need to be addressed to ensure elections reach the required standards.
	We expect the Election Commission and all officials involved with the electoral process to operate with competence and independence. The Caretaker Government overseeing the elections has a responsibility to ensure that there is no political bias and should act in an inclusive, transparent and non-partisan way. It will be judged on its ability to do so and more generally to provide an appropriate environment for the elections. In this regard the recently announced measures to update the voter list are to be welcomed. We call on the parties to engage constructively and responsibly with the Caretaker Government during its term of office.

Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the extent is of UK participation in the EU Action Plan on the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention; why action at the EU level is required in this area; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The EU agreed a strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in 2003, which is an important co-ordinating document. The EU action plan on biological and toxin weapons is complementary to that strategy and other EU work on the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention. Itsets out practical steps for EU member states in implementing their strategy. All EU partners, including the UK, have submitted confidence building measures mechanism returns in 2006 which enables the EU to have a firmer base for encouraging other States Parties to submit them. The EU have also agreed to submit lists of experts and laboratories to the UN Secretary-General which is in line with the UN General Assembly's encouragement to the UN Secretary-General to update the list, so as to permit timely and efficient investigation of alleged use of biological and chemical weapons.

Casinos

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which casino operators officials from her Department met in 2005-06; whether the Department for Trade and Industry provided papers for the meetings; and if she will make such papers available along with the minutes and agendas of the meetings.

Ian McCartney: During 2005-06, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials in Los Angeles, including the Consul-General, met representatives of two casino operators on three occasions:
	On 18 July 2005, the Consul-General and a member of his staff met Mr. Rob Goldstein, President of the Venetian, in Las Vegas.
	On 23 August 2005, the Consul-General in Los Angeles met Mr. Peter George, Senior Vice President, International Development of Harrah's Entertainment Inc.
	On 20 February 2006, the Consul-General in Los Angeles attended a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina victims in Las Vegas. During this event, the Consul-General had a brief discussion with Mr. Gary Loveman, chief executive officer of Harrah's Entertainment Inc.
	The Department of Trade and Industry did not provide any papers in advance of these meetings and due to commercial confidentiality we are not in a position to make the minutes and documents publicly available.
	Other than these meetings and following a Department wide trawl, we are not aware of any other meetings between FCO officials and casino operators during this period.

Diplomatic Traffic Violations

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was incurred in outstanding parking and other traffic violation fines each of the last five years by embassy staff on official duties in each country where her Department's employees are deployed in the Diplomatic Service.

Geoff Hoon: We do not hold records centrally on any parking or traffic violations incurred by UK diplomatic staff overseas and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. All Government staff based overseas are required to maintain the UK's reputation for high standards of behaviour and respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state.

Doha Trade Round

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the prospects for resurrecting the Doha trade talks.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government welcome the resumption of discussions in the WTO Working Groups in Geneva since mid-November. This is a positive development, and it is important that all WTO members capitalise on the new momentum. The Government's priority is to encourage WTO members to show additional flexibility and commitment during the window of opportunity to deliver real progress towards an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

Ethiopia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the government of Ethiopia on independence of the judiciary.

Ian McCartney: The independence of the judiciary is a stated priority for the Government of Ethiopia. Along with other partners, we are working to support the reform of the justice sector in Ethiopia and discuss these issues with government officials in the Ministry of Justice whenever appropriate.
	Most recently, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office sponsored a group of senior Ethiopian members of the judiciary to visit the UK to assist with their justice sector reform programme.

Ethiopia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the level of political freedom in Ethiopia.

Ian McCartney: The election in May 2005 marked a step change in the democratisation process in Ethiopia. The degree of political freedom and debate in the run up to the election was unprecedented. We were disturbed that subsequent disputes over the election results led to civil unrest and violence, widespread arrests and allegations of human rights abuses. The main opposition leaders and some civil society representatives remain in detention facing serious charges including genocide and treason. Since the election there has been a closing down of political space for the opposition, the independent media and civil society.
	We continue to encourage both the government and opposition to move forward with the democratisation process and to work towards political reconciliation. We have a regular dialogue with the government on governance and human rights issues and the government is now beginning to take steps to create space for opposition parties to contribute and participate in the House of Peoples' Representatives. We continue to urge the government to open up the political space and encourage open debate with all parts of society.

Ethiopia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the treatment of Supreme Court President Teshale Aberra by the government of Ethiopia.

Ian McCartney: Teshale Aberra, the Oromia region Supreme Court President made allegations about his treatment by the Ethiopian authorities. We have no information to confirm such reports, but we continue to urge the Government of Ethiopia to comply with international human rights standards and respect individual human rights.

Extraordinary Rendition

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of whether the practice of extraordinary rendition complies with British obligations under (a) the Human Rights Act 1998 and  (b) the UN Convention on Torture.

Kim Howells: The terms 'rendition' or 'extraordinary rendition' are currently used to describe informal transfers of individuals in a wide range of circumstances. In this context, our policy on the use of UK airports or airspace is clear and fully compliant with our legal obligations. We have not, and will not, facilitate the transfer of individuals through the UK to places where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face a real risk of torture. Nor would we assist another state in doing so were it to put us in breach of UK laws or our international obligations.

Extraordinary Rendition

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the findings of the European Parliament report on rendition.

Kim Howells: The European Parliament (EP) report is still in draft and we are studying its contents. We have co-operated fully with the EP's inquiry, including through a meeting between a delegation from the Temporary Committee on the Alleged Use of European Countries for the Transport and Illegal Detention of Prisoners with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon. As we have made clear on a number of occasions, most notably in the written ministerial statement by my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Jack Straw) on20 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 37-38WS, we have found no evidence of detainees being rendered through the UK or Overseas Territories since11 September 2001.

India

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Government of India about  (a) the status of and  (b) human rights abuses against the Dalit community.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no recent discussions with the Government of India about the status of, or human rights abuses against the Dalit community. However, officials at our high commission in New Delhi have had discussions on a range of issues relating to minorities, including Dalits and Dalit rights with the National Minorities Commission, most recently in June.

Kashmir

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further confidence building measures are planned in respect of Kashmir; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We welcome the continued dialogue between India and Pakistan over all outstanding issues, including Kashmir. In contacts with the Governments of India and Pakistan, we have encouraged them to continue efforts to build trust, confidence and improve the lives of ordinary Kashmiris.

Kashmir

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the draft report by Baroness Nicholson MEP for the European Parliament on Kashmir.

Kim Howells: The European Parliament is currently engaged in its own internal procedures in preparation of a report on the situation in Kashmir. I think it would be premature to comment at this stage. I look forward to reading the final report when it issues in spring 2007.

Kenya

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the level of corruption in the  (a) Government and  (b) public sector in Kenya.

Ian McCartney: Grand-scale corruption continues in Kenya. Kenya was ranked 142 out of 163 countries in the recently published 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. By comparison Uganda was at position 105 and Tanzania at 93.
	We want to see action taken over the major corruption scandals, e.g. the Anglo-Leasing and Goldenberg investigations and the anti-corruption institutions strengthened. We stand ready to assist in any way we can, including through Mutual Legal Assistance to recover stolen assets, but the Government needs to demonstrate its commitment to its citizens to take action.

Kenya

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential effects of recent ministerial appointments by the government of Kenya on  (a) corruption and  (b) good governance in that country.

Ian McCartney: The stepping aside of three Ministers in early 2006 following allegations of their involvement in corruption was unprecedented in Kenya. This move was welcomed by all those supporting the Kenyan government's stated objective to tackle widespread corruption.
	Two of the Ministers, George Saitoti and Kiraitu Murungi, were re-appointed to government on15 November. These appointments have raised further concerns about the government's commitment to fully address corruption and improve the wider governance environment.

Maldives

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Government of the Maldives on  (a) human rights,  (b) freedom of expression and  (c) the right to peaceful assembly.

Kim Howells: In Male on 2-3 December, our high commissioner accredited to Maldives, but resident in Colombo, raised our concerns with President Gayoom, the Foreign Minister, and senior Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leaders and during an address to the MDP National Council. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also discuss such issues with the Maldivian Government. Most recently senior officials met with the Foreign Minister, Dr. Shaheed in London on 1 December.
	We are concerned about human rights in Maldives, which acceded to the UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights on 19 September 2006. We continue to underline to the Maldivian Government that all allegations of human rights violations must be effectively investigated. We trust that the recently reconstituted Human Rights Commission of Maldives will be appropriately empowered and resourced todo so.

Military Commissions Act

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with the US Administration on the Military Commissions Act passed in September 2006;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with the US Administration on the  (a) definition of and  (b) rights of an unlawful enemy combatant in international law;
	(3)  what recent discussions she has had with the US Administration on the rights of unlawful enemy combatants;
	(4)  what recent discussions she has had with the US Administration on the application of habeas corpus to unlawful enemy combatants;
	(5)  what recent discussions she has had with the government of the United States on the practice of extraordinary rendition.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly discusses a wide range of detainee issues, including the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and rendition, with the US government.

Nuclear Disarmament

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with  (a) other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council,  (b) the non-nuclear armed members of NATO,  (c) India,  (d) Pakistan and  (e) Israel on the merits of the United Kingdom decommissioning its nuclear weapons (i) unilaterally and (ii) via multilateral negotiations.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office holds frequent and regular discussion with all the above mentioned countries and the wider UN membership on the full range of disarmament issues through our participation in, inter alia, the Non-Proliferation treaty, the Conference on Disarmament, the UN Disarmament Committee and the UN First Committee. The UK strongly believes that the best way to achieve our goal of a safer world, free from nuclear weapons, is through consensus.

Nuclear Weapons

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will publish the legal advice received by the Government that underpins the policy position that retention and renewal of the UK's nuclear weapons is consistent with the UK's international legal obligations set out in the White Paper on The Future of The United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent, CM 6994.

Kim Howells: Legal issues are dealt with in the White Paper and accompanying factsheet. Legal advice received by the Government is confidential.

Polonium 210

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list the countries she has identified as having conducted experiments using polonium 210.

Kim Howells: Any country with a reactor has the ability to produce Polonium 210 and therefore carry out experiments with it. However, Polonium 210 is not subject to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and does not have to be reported to the agency, so even countries without a reactor could carry out experiments if they had a supply from a producing country. The UK, Russia, US and France are recognised as producing sealed Polonium 210 sources for commercial use; as a neutron source, for eliminating static charges in textile mills, used on brushes for removing dust from photographic films, thermoelectric power in space satellites, etc.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which the security situation in the Central African Republic is a consequence of the fighting in Sudan and Chad; what plans she has to try to prevent a further spread of the violence; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The north eastern province of Vakaga in the Central African Republic has increasingly been used as both a conduit and base for Sudanese and Chadian rebel groups, increasingly over the last eight months. This has created further instability. Central African Republic rebel groups have become increasingly active within this region, capturing three towns within Vakaga during November, and in the north west of the country. The Central African Republic's armed forces, assisted by forces from the French and FOMUC, the EU funded African peace mission, have now stabilised the Vakaga region, although the situation remains tense.
	We press the Government of Sudan regularly on the need for a viable cease-fire in Darfur, and to stop supporting Chadian rebel groups. We have pressed both the Chad and Sudan Governments to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli agreement, and will continue to do so. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office met with the Chadian ambassador on 20 November and raised our concerns over the security situation in both Chad and the Central African Republic, particularly in the border regions.
	We also continue to raise our concerns over the situation in the Central African Republic through the EU and the UN. The UN is expected to report shortly on prospects for a mission in Chad and Central African Republic, as mandated under UN Security Council Resolution 1706.

Sudan

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State forForeign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to establish a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Darfur.

Ian McCartney: Since signature of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006, we have been in regular contact with the government of Sudan, Minni Minnawi and the non-signatory rebel groups. We are pressing for an immediate and strengthened ceasefire; a process to secure the support of the non-signatory groups for the agreement; and an effective peacekeeping operation. The international community and the government of Sudan agreed a way forwardon these issues at the Addis Ababa meeting on16 November, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development attended. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister telephoned President Bashir on 22 November to urge him to accept this package, which has since been endorsed by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. We continue to call on him to do so. We remain committed to finding a peaceful resolution to this appalling conflict.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of statements by the President of Sudan that there is no famine or genocide in Darfur.

Ian McCartney: During a press conference on27 November in Khartoum, President Bashir denied reports of starvation in Darfur and claimed that the number of those killed by fighting to date in Darfur was less than 9,000.
	The UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator Jan Egeland estimates that up to four million people in Darfur are dependent on food aid. The most commonly quoted estimate of numbers killed in the conflict in Darfur is 200,000. However, the exact figure is unlikely ever to be known.
	The UN-appointed International Commission of Inquiry concluded in January last year that the Sudanese government had not pursued a policy of genocide. But it found that grave violations of human rights and war crimes had been committed by all sides. The Commission also concluded that individuals may have had genocidal intent. It will be for the International Criminal Court to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant prosecutions for genocide.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the role of the Sudan government in the violence in Chad that has spread from Darfur.

Ian McCartney: We are very concerned about the current situation in Chad. We assess it is fuelled partly by cross-border interference from Sudan. We continue to call on both the Government of Sudan and the Government of Chad to stop supporting each others rebels and to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli Agreement. A UN Assessment Mission travelled to Chad from 28 November to 3 December to look at what the UN could do to improve security in refugee camps and border areas. We are pressing the UN Secretary-General to report back quickly with options for an international presence in the Chad/Darfur border region.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the government of Chad on the violence that has spread from Darfur.

Ian McCartney: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Officials met with the Chadian Ambassador on20 November and raised our concerns over the security situation in Chad and the stability of the region as a whole.
	We press the Government of Sudan regularly on the need for a viable ceasefire in Darfur and to stop supporting Chadian rebel groups. We also continueto urge both the Government of Chad and the Government of Sudan to fulfil their obligations under the Tripoli Agreement and respect each others borders.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the decision by the UN Human Rights Council to reject a resolution calling upon the Sudan Government to prosecute those responsible for atrocities in Darfur.

Ian McCartney: The UK pushed for a strong result on Darfur at the Human Rights Council. The EU tabled a resolution which called, among other things, on all parties to assist in bringing to justice those responsible for grave crimes under international law, and for the Human Rights Commissioner to report follow up at the Human Rights Council in March 2007. However, the resolution on Sudan adopted by the Council on 28 November was unacceptably weak. The UK subsequently played an active role in securing an emergency session of the Human Rights Council on Darfur, to be held on 12 December, where we will push for an expert human rights assessment mission to the region.

UN Troop Missions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with UN troop contributor governments on the conduct of troops on UN missions;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with UN troops contributor governments on the behaviour of troops on UN missions towards civilians.

Kim Howells: Foreign and Commonwealth Officeand Ministry of Defence officials have regular consultations with leading UN troop contributors, both bilaterally and in the context of UN General Assembly discussion, on a wide range of peacekeeping issues including peacekeeping doctrine, the role of peacekeepers in the protection of civilians, conduct and discipline, combating sexual exploitation and abuse, and the role of women in peace and security.

UN Troop Missions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the involvement of UN troops in the ill-treatment of children in  (a) Haiti and  (b) Liberia.

Kim Howells: I have noted with concern recent allegations of the ill-treatment of children by UN peacekeepers in Haiti and Liberia. The UN held a High Level Conference on eliminating sexual exploitation and abuse by UN and non-governmental organisation personnel on 4 December. During this conference, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jane Holl Lute, stated that "all credible allegations would be investigated. A peacekeeper found to have committed such acts, at a minimum, would be repatriated, and there would be follow-up with the country regarding disposition of the case". The UK will be monitoring the progress of UN follow-up to these allegations closely.
	In Liberia, the Government, together with national and international partners, launched a campaign on4 December to combat sexual exploitation and abuse.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff were employed through employment agencies in  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.

Harriet Harman: My Department has a national contract with Kelly Services Ltd. for the provision of agency staff. Information regarding the average number of staff employed through this agency appears as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Average number of agency workers 
			 2001-02 170 
			 2002-03 259 
			 2003-04 283 
			 2004-05 395 
			 2005-06 722 
		
	
	Information relating to workers employed through other employment agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

DHL

Anne Milton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much her Department paid to DHL in each financial year between 1997-98 and 2005-06.

Harriet Harman: Details of how much the Department has paid to DHL International (UK) Ltd. and DHL Express (UK) Ltd. in each financial year between 1997-98 and 2005-06 is tabled as follows.
	
		
			  DHL International (UK) Ltd. 
			  Period  Amount (£) 
			 2005-06 1,127.12 
			 2004-05 840.41 
			 2003-04 1,117.21 
			 2002-03 66.10 
			 2001-02 34.88 
			 2000-01 0.00 
			 1999-2000 21.18 
			 1998-99 0.00 
			 Total 3,206.90 
		
	
	
		
			  DHL Express (UK) Ltd. 
			  Period  Amount (£) 
			 2005-06 34,418.35 
			 2004-05 301.72 
			 2003-04 0.00 
			 2002-03 0.00 
			 2001-02 0.00 
			 2000-01 0.00 
			 1999-2000 0.00 
			 1998-99 0.00 
			 Total 34,720.07 
		
	
	Information on previous years is not available.

Family Courts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department is considering proposals to give magistrates  (a) the authority and  (b) the training to deal directly with children within the family courts system; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: Magistrates are already able to deal with children directly under Part 21(3)(e) of the Family Proceedings Court (Children Act 1989) Rules 1991. There is an onus on the court under s1(3) of the Children Act 1989 to ascertain the child's wishes considered in light of age and understanding, in cases where a children's guardian was appointed to act on behalf of the child or a Children and Family Reporter was requested to supply a report dealing with the child's wishes.
	It is not possible to indicate what training may be required in advance of any legislative change.
	The Separate Representation of Children consultation paper published on 1 September 2006 proposes a cultural change that will achieve a more child centred family justice system. The consultation asks whether judges (including magistrates) should speak to children as a matter of course. The consultation is now closed and the findings of the consultation paper will be published in the new year.
	Separately, the "Review of the Child Care Proceedings System, in England and Wales", published in May 2006, recommended that the judiciary should be encouraged to address families directly during care proceedings, avoiding legal jargon. This is beingtaken forward by the judiciary together with other recommendations from this review. However, consideration will be given to how judicial training and best practice guidance can support this.

Magistrates Courts

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent on  (a) maintaining and  (b) refurbishing (i) Barry, (ii) Rhondda and (iii) Aberdare magistrates courts in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The amount spent on maintenance at the courthouses in the previous five years is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barry 62,023 146,975 143,810 86,316 57,000 
			 Rhondda 11,915 10,782 15,505 17,601 19,360 
			 Aberdare 18,004 15,379 29,889 32,506 25,598 
		
	
	Available figures for the amount spent on refurbishment at the courthouses is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barry — 74,000 192,550 — — 
			 Rhondda — — 16,000 — — 
			 Aberdare — — 27,000 357,897 — 
		
	
	The refurbishment at Aberdare includes money spent on amalgamating the magistrates and county courts into one building.

Magistrates Courts

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what proportion of court cases in South Wales were heard in each magistrates court in South Wales in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: There are 10 magistrates courthouses in the South Wales area, which hear a variety of criminal and family cases. The following table shows the total number of cases each year and the percentage of each court of the total over the entire period.
	
		
			   Number of cases in:   Over entire period 
			  Court  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  Average case load per year  Case load  Percentage of case load for South Wales 
			 Aberdare 5,152 4,988 4,527 4,889 14,667 3.6 
			 Barry 10,058 10,679 10,245 10,327 30,982 7.6 
			 Bridgend 12,382 11,800 10,794 11,659 34,976 8.6 
			 Cardiff 47,332 46,493 48,636 47,487 14,246 34.9 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 8,187 8,485 7,661 8,111 24,333 6 
			 Neath and Port Talbot 12,005 14,070 11,668 12,581 37,743 9.2 
			 Pontypridd and Rhondda 17,829 17,738 15,939 17,169 51,506 12.6 
			 Swansea 24,361 26,119 21,031 23,837 71,511 17.5

Departmental Costs

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on websites within the Cabinet Office's responsibility in each year since 1997-98.

Patrick McFadden: Annual costs (including VAT) are shown in the following table. The figures include the costs for all Cabinet Office departments, including Executive agencies.
	
		
			  Financial year  Cabinet Office cost (£)  Directgov cost (£ million) 
			 2006-07 (estimate) 690,000 5.3 
			 2005-06 975,000 5.4 
			 2004-05 670,000 5.4 
		
	
	Cabinet Office website costs are not available before 2004-05 as budgets for communication activity (including website development and maintenance) were devolved to Cabinet Office business units.
	Directgov website costs (which cover services across government) are not available before 2004-05 as it was previously funded from within the UKOnline budget which was the responsibility of the Office of the e-Envoy (now eGU), and it has not been possible to obtain this financial information.
	The Cabinet Office costs shown include the following elements:
	web hosting and infrastructure leasing,
	security auditing and software,
	domain name registration and renewal,
	application development and maintenance,
	software licences and renewals, and
	telecommunications rental and usage.
	As the primary electronic channel to citizens for government, Directgov aims to be the one-place citizens turn to for the latest and widest range of public services. Directgov supports services on the web via www.direct.gov.uk, digital television (DTV) via Sky, ntl: and Telewest, and is available on via mobile phones. Independent research has shown high-levels of customer satisfaction, far exceeding the average rating for a government on-line service and on a par with the commercial sector.

Parliamentary Questions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance published for Departments on answering parliamentary questions; and when the guidance was last updated.

Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office "Guidance to Officials on Drafting Answers to Parliamentary Questions" was last updated in February 2005. Copies of the Guidance are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
	The hon. Member may be aware the disproportionate cost threshold when answering parliamentary questions has increased to £700. I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on28 November 2006,  Official Report, column 87WS.

Companies Bill

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Trade and Industry pursuant to his answer of4 December 2006,  Official Report, column 15W, on the Companies Bill, what estimate he has made of the difference in savings to business between the point at which they were assessed as a result of discussions with businesses in the course of developing the Companies Bill and the Bill as it received Royal Assent.

Margaret Hodge: The Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for the Companies Act is currently being reviewed and updated in the light of changes made to the Bill during its passage through Parliament, and further discussions with business and others over this period. A final RIA incorporating any necessary changes will be published shortly. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Consumer Direct

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many  (a) hits the Consumer Direct website received and  (b) consumer complaints were submitted to the website in each quarter since it became available.

Ian McCartney: The Consumer Direct website has received 1,234,832 hits to date. A breakdown of the use of the website is listed in the table (annex a).
	The number of complaints submitted through the Consumer Direct website for each quarter is listed in the table (annex b).
	The Government established Consumer Direct to offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.
	
		
			  Annex( a) Consumer Direct website statistics 
			   Quarter 1  Quarter 2  Quarter 3  Quarter 4 
			  English language( 1) 
			 Page views 
			 2006 1,015,946 1,049,485 1,084,412 — 
			 2005 373,689 472,270 735,661 664,767 
			 2004 —- — — 309,388 
			  
			 Visits 
			 2006 213,784 221,872 232,206 — 
			 2005 76,174 105,412 166,277 152,901 
			 2004 — — — 62,254 
			  
			 Visitors 
			 2006 200,394 208,166 217,487 — 
			 2005 71,027 96,712 156,224 143,533 
			 2004 — — — 58,640 
			  
			  Welsh language( 2) 
			 Page views 
			 2006 1,276 1,160 1,189 — 
			 2005 — 1,507 1,061 955 
			 2004 — — — — 
			  
			 Visits 
			 2006 658 575 1,189 — 
			 2005 — 534 493 503 
			 2004 — — — — 
			  
			 Visitors 
			 2006 644 564 582 — 
			 2005 — 510 475 494 
			 2004 — — — — 
			 (1 )Statistics start on 30 September 2004 (2 )Statistics start on 31 March 2005  Note: Q3 is not finished 
		
	
	
		
			  Annex (b) Consumer complaints submitted to the Consumer Direct website in each quarter 
			   The regions 
			   EE( 1)  EM( 2)  LR( 3)  NE( 4)  NW( 5)  SC( 6)  SE( 7)  SW( 8)  WA( 9)  WM( 10)  YH( 11)  Total 
			  2004-05 
			 Q1 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 Q2 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 03 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 Q4 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			  
			  2005-06 
			 Q1 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 Q2 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 Q3 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 Q4 188 278 566 50 306 192 735 307 93 166 226 3,107 
			  
			  2006-07 
			 Ql 420 631 1270 292 856 578 1,791 1,038 253 597 607 8,333 
			 Q2 462 644 1444 361 878 508 1,935 1,259 280 379 766 8,916 
			 Q3 188 229 473 127 315 243 705 420 113 204 239 3,256 
			 Q4 — — — — — — — — — — — 0 
			 23,612 
			 (1) East of England (2) East Midlands (3) London (4) North-East (5) North-West (6) Scotland (7) South-East (8) South-West (9) Wales (10) West Midlands (11) Yorkshire and the Humber  Source: Secure Post Office Message Tracking Report March-October 2006

Consumer Direct

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of setting up and running the Consumer Direct helpline has been in each quarter since it became available.

Ian McCartney: The OFT became responsible for Consumer Direct on 1 April 2006. From historical information provided by DTI and OFT's own records, the cost of setting up and running the Consumer Direct helpline was:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			  Year ended  
			 31 March 2004(1) 3,000,000 
			 31 March 2005(2) 12,500,000 
			 31 March 2006(2) 18,500,000 
			  Quarter ended  
			 30 June 2006 4,276,552 
			 30 September 2006 3,929,618 
			 (1) This data has been provided by DTI from page 11 of their Consumer Direct Programme Closure Report, June 2006 (D06/538302). (2 )Data was not provided broken down by quarter. 
		
	
	The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.

Consumer Direct

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of the public used the Consumer Direct helpline in each quarter since it became available, broken down by region.

Ian McCartney: The breakdown of the use of the Consumer Direct helpline is listed in the following table.
	The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.
	
		
			  Use of the Consumer Direct helpline 
			   EE( 1)  EM( 1)  LR( 1)  NE( 1)  NW( 1)  SC( 1)  SE( 1)  SW( 1)  WA( 1)  WM( 1)  YH( 1)  Total 
			  2004-05 
			 Q1 — — — — — 778 — — — — — 778 
			 Q2 — — — — — 24,029 — 15,251 13,320 — 23,864 76,464 
			 Q3 — — — — — 21,175 — 31,438 26,037 — 34,697 113,347 
			 Q4 1,326 — 1,728 — — 25,454 5,549 30,153 23,325 — 36,131 123,666 
			  
			  2005-06 
			 Q1 17,393 8,393 24,193 — — 22,354 35,890 29,025 21,744 — 35,150 194,142 
			 Q2 29,707 21,761 44,159 — — 22,062 50,175 36,379 22,541 — 38,822 265,606 
			 Q3 26,724 25,738 40,275 — 2,717 24,226 43,904 32,657 21,719 130 35,664 253,754 
			 Q4 34,767 30,184 48,551 4,251 34,850 23,772 58,178 35,113 22,974 16,769 36,769 346,178 
			  
			  2006-07 
			 Q1 35,242 29,113 43,702 14,459 42,970 25,614 60,087 34,747 23,598 24,696 34,917 369,145 
			 Q2 38,846 32,679 51,061 17,855 50,696 26,658 65,390 37,522 22,877 37,493 38,628 419,705 
			 Q3 23,497 17,578 26,343 9,344 31,830 15,897 36,191 26,573 15,112 19,426 24,690 246,481 
			 Q4 — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total2,409,266 
			 (1) The regions: EE = East of England EM = East Midlands LR = London NE = North-East NW = North-West SC = Scotland SE = South East SW = South West WA = Wales WM = West Midlands YH = Yorkshire and the Humber  Source: ACD Daily Stats submitted by each Consumer Direct Regional Centre from inception to latest available data (week commencing20 November 2006).

Consumer Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking over the Christmas period to alert consumers of the protection provided under legislation on the sale and supply of goods.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has no such plans. The protections available to consumers under the Sale of Goods Act, in the event that goods purchased proved to be faulty, etc., are available to assist them throughout the year and not just over the festive season.
	Consumer Direct (08454 040506 or www.consumerdirect.gov.uk) provides clear, practical advice on consumer issues including purchases made under the Sale of Goods Act. Alternatively, local Citizen's Advice Bureaux (www.citizensadvice.org.uk) or local authority trading standards services (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk) can provide advice on how best to proceed with complaints. The local trading standards office for St. Albans is located at Hertfordshire county council, 45 Grosvenor Road,St. Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 3 AW. Telephone 08454 040506.

Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State forTrade and Industry when he will reply to letters of  (a) 15 May 2006 and  (b) 28 November 2006 from the hon. Member for Billericay on the EU Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances.

Malcolm Wicks: I responded to the hon. Member's letter of 15 May 2006 on 18 May 2006. A copyhas been sent to the hon. Member's office for information. Unfortunately the hon. Member's letter of 28 November does not seem to have been received. A copy has been requested and a response will be provided as soon as possible.

Departmental Expenditure

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding his Department gave to the  (a) Hearing Aid Council,  (b) British Hallmarking Council,  (c) Manufacturing Advisory Service,  (d) Industrial Development Advisory Board,  (e) Ethnic Minority Business Forum and  (f) Equal Opportunities Commission in each of the last five years; and how much has been provided to each body in 2006-07.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has not provided any funding to the British Hallmark Council in the last five years or in the current year.
	Industrial Development Advisory Board and Ethnic Minority Business Forum are advisory NDPBs which do not directly receive funding from the Department. However, they are provided with secretariat support from the Department, which also meets the costs of members' honoraria and expenses where appropriate.
	The Manufacturing Advisory Service is not constituted as a separate entity. It is a programme operated by the Department, expenditure on which has been as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2006-07 6.0 
			 2005-06 6.0 
			 2004-05 2.0 
			 2003-04 4.7 
			 2002-03 4.5 
			 2001-02 3.0 
		
	
	For the Hearing Aid Council, no funding has been given in 2006-07. Funding for previous years is set out in the annual Public Bodies Directory for the respective years; see website link
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/pubiic_bodies/index.asp.
	The Equal Opportunities Commission has since April this year been the responsibility of the Department of Communities and Local Government. Funding for previous years is set out in the annual Public Bodies Directory for the respective years.

Departmental Staff

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many  (a) marketing officers,  (b) communications officers and  (c) press officers are employed in his Department; and what the total expenditure on communications for his Department was on (i) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (ii) other (A) press officers, (B) special advisers and (C) staff in the last year for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: 69.7 (full time equivalent - FTE) communications staff were employed centrally within DTI in 2005-06, as follows:
	
		
			   FTE 
			 Press 14 
			 Marketing 22 
			 Internal and Electronic Communications 15 
			 Other Communications 14.7 
			 Administration 4 
		
	
	The pay bill for those staff during the same period was £2.9 million.
	Information on staff numbers in communications elsewhere in the Department is not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
	The time spent by special advisors on communications work cannot be disaggregated from their other duties.

EC External Trade: Africa

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure bilateral trade negotiations between the EU and countries in Africa prioritise the development needs of the latter.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are currently being negotiated between the European Union and African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. These agreements will replace the trading arrangements established through the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the ACP, which will lapse at the end of 2007.
	The UK recognises that trade can be an important driver of development and we are acting to ensurethat EPAs promote long-term development. The Government published a position paper on EPAs in March 2005. This states that, among other things, we will push for duty-free quota-free access for all ACP countries to the EU, simple and liberal Rules of Origin and that ACP should have maximum flexibility over their own market opening.
	The UK has expended considerable effort over the last year to ensure that the review of EPAs negotiations currently taking place provides a significant opportunity for the ACP to raise any concerns. Government Ministers take every opportunity to meet with ACP ministers, negotiators and representatives in order to listen to any concerns they may have. We continue to work with our EU partners and other member states to ensure that the ACP should be in the driving seat of their own reform.

Electricity Supply

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the expected electricity plant margin  (a) in each year between 2006 and 2009 and  (b) after 2009.

Alistair Darling: The expected electricity plant margin for winter 2006-07 as published in national grid's winter report
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/temp/ofgem/cache/cmsattach/16803_168_06.pdf
	is 22 per cent.
	The best assessment of the expected electricity plant margin over the years 2007 out to 2013 is illustrated in the following table, taken from national grid's Seven Year Statement of May 2006
	http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/SYS/current/.
	This gives projections against three generation scenarios, reflecting the extent to which proposed new transmission contracted plant does, in the event, proceed to completion, provided both by customers and national grid itself.
	
		
			  Percentage plant margin (SYS( 1)  update, May 2006)  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13 
			 Customer based—SYS(1) 21.3 22.6 33.0 35.6 43.6 46.6 46.2 
			 Customer based—C(2) 21.3 20.1 21.5 20.1 17.1 15.9 14.5 
			 Customer based—E,UC(3) 21.3 18.3 18.2 16.7 13.9 12.7 11.3 
			 NGET base—SYS(1) 22.6 25.7 37.1 40.3 49.2 52.8 53.0 
			 NGET base—C(2) 22.6 23.2 25.2 24.2 21.7 20.8 19.8 
			 NGET based—E,UC(3) 22.6 21.3 21.8 20.8 18.3 17.4 16.5 
			 (1) In addition to all existing plant: plant where an appropriate contract is in place for connection to and use of the transmission system, less notified reductions in capacity from plant closures or plant being mothballed (2 )In addition to all existing plant: plant that has obtained consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act and section 14 of the Energy Act 1976, less notified reductions in capacity from plant closures or plant being mothballed (3 )In addition to all existing plant which is actually under construction, less notified reductions in capacity from plant closures or plant being mothballed.  Source:  National grid

Energy: Small Businesses

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the level of regulatory protection afforded to small businesses in the energy market; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: GB energy markets are regulated by Ofgem, whose main role is to issue and enforce licences by which participation in the GB energy sector is required. Attached to these licences are various industry and best practice codes to ensure all users get the best deal. Ofgem's principal statutory objective is to protect the interest of consumers, including small businesses. As such, GB customers are well protected by the current regulatory regime. There is also the statutory consumer body, energywatch, which can investigate complaints on behalf of electricity and gas users.

Farepak

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been collected in fees by the Farepak administrator; at what hourly rate fees are charged for a  (a) partner and  (b) (i) senior and (ii) junior members of staff; how much revenue has been generated through telephone charges from creditors; what estimate he has made of the final fees of the administrator; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The administrators have not yet charged their fees to this case and the legislation does not require any account to be prepared until after they have been in office for six months. However details of the administrators' charge out rates are likely to be included in the report to creditors which will be issued in January.
	Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I am in a position to estimate the amount of fees that may become payable in this case.
	In most cases, the general body of creditors determine whether the remuneration should be based on a percentage of the value of assets dealt with by the administrators or their time costs. It is possible for the court to reduce the amount of remuneration where creditors claim that it is excessive.
	With regard to cost of telephone inquiries, the administrators had to set up a specific call centre to deal with the large volume of inquiries about this case. I am advised that the cost of the calls are purely to cover the costs of the call centre and will not result in any "profit" accruing to the administrators.

Farepak

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to announce who is heading his Department's inquiry into Farepak.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 4 December 2006
	The investigation into Farepak is being carried out under Section 447 of the Companies Act 1985 by officers of the Department's Companies Investigations Branch. Unlike the appointment of inspectors, it is not the practice to disclose the names of investigators carrying out these enquiries.
	The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.

Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding his Department provided to support the furniture industry in each year since 1990; and how many staff in his Department worked to support the furniture industry in each year.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has provided funding to support the furniture sector as follows:
	
		
			   Support  Amount of support (£) 
			 1990-91 Regional Selective Assistance 1,823,000 
			
			 1991-92 Regional Selective Assistance 1,266,000 
			
			 1992-93 Regional Selective Assistance 1,088,000 
			
			 1993-94 Regional Selective Assistance 3,676,000 
			
			 1994-95 Regional Selective Assistance 1,940,000 
			
			 1995-96 Regional Selective Assistance 4,404,000 
			
			 1996-97 Regional Selective Assistance 1,660,000 
			
			 1997-98 Regional Selective Assistance 1,579,000 
			  TFSS—Exhibitions and Seminars 2,251,422 
			
			 1998-99 TFSS—Exhibitions and Seminars 2,414,130 
			  Regional Selective Assistance 2,174,000 
			
			 1999-2000 SESA—Exhibitions, Seminars 715,077 
			  Regional Selective Assistance 1,452,000 
			
			 2000-01 SESA—Exhibitions, Seminars 799,127 
			  Regional Selective Assistance 1,652,000 
			
			 2001-02 SESA—Exhibitions, Seminars 768,206 
			  Regional Selective Assistance 825,000 
			  Competitiveness Study 6,935 
			
			 2002-03 SESA—Exhibitions, Seminars 693,904 
			  Regional Selective Assistance 870,000 
			  Competitiveness Study 89,016 
			
			 2003-04 SESA—Exhibitions, Seminars 812,775 
			  UK First Industry Forum 131,346 
			  Regional Selective Assistance 1,700,000 
			
			 2004-05 SESA—Exhibitions, Seminars, Missions 907,773 
			  UK First Industry Forum 327,347 
			  Sector Partnership Funding 45,000 
			  Regional Selective Assistance 470,000 
			  Selective Finance for Industry, England 340,000 
			
			 2005-06 SESA—Exhibitions, Seminars, Missions 666,501 
			  UK First Industry Forum 501,727 
			  Selective Finance for Industry, England 414,000 
			
			 2006-07 TAP—Exhibitions only 211,746 
			  UK First Industry Forum 133,725 
			  Technology Programme 35,000 
			  Notes: 1. Figures Trade and Seminar support not available before 1997 and for competitiveness before 2001. 2. Excludes business support funding from business links which are not available by sector. 3. Excludes RSA and SfIE support on soft furnishings or plastic furniture as the SIC code that covers them also covers a range of non furniture goods. 
		
	
	As part of the household goods, furnishings and furniture sector, the furniture industry has also benefited financially from Sectors Group within UK Trade and Investment as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 2003-04 54,387 
			 2004-05 198,851 
			 2005-06 128,763 
			 2006-07 30,000 
		
	
	A range of staff across the Department have worked to support the UK furniture industry, on issues such as productivity, exporting, standards, fair competition and research and development. It is not possible to isolate their work for the furniture sector from their other duties.

Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have had with each of the regional development agencies on the promotion of the furniture manufacturing industry in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows.
	 (a) In January 2005, Nigel Griffiths (formerly Minister for Construction, Small Business and Enterprise) gave a short presentation on behalf of DTI/UKTI at the Birmingham furniture show. The audience included representatives from Advantage West Midlands, overseas buyers of furniture and representatives from the UK furniture industry.
	 (b) During the period 2003 to 2005, UK Trade and Investment officials met with representatives from a selection of RDAs. Specific meetings were held with Advantage West Midlands, East Midlands Development Agency and One North East. These meetings were to discuss how the then consumer goods team, within UKTI, could add value to the RDAs international agenda for consumer goods. The furniture industry was only one element, which was discussed. Officials from DTI also met Advantage West Midlands in 2004 to discuss the Birmingham furniture show and other issues.

Furniture

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give priority status to the furniture industry; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: A range of staff across the Department work on issues which affect the UK furniture industry. We support them appropriately within the recourses available to us.

Furniture

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for the furniture industry of the trend for smaller houses and flats; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: No such assessment has been made by the Department. The furniture industry is fully capable of assessing what the impact of any trend for smaller houses will have on the sector and how it should respond.

Gershon Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much inefficiency savings has been made in his Department and its associated public bodies as a result of the Gershon Review; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: At the end of the second quarterof year two of the Department's efficiencyprogramme, the data available indicated an overall position of £304.60 million cashable and non-cashable savings against a quarter two year two target of £183.59 million. Of the £304.60 million savings reported (in line with OGC data classification requirements) £120.39 million classified as Final and £138.91 million as Interim. £45.30 million of savings were classified as Preliminary.
	Savings classified as Preliminary or Interim require additional data (to confirm them as Gershon review efficiencies), which may mean that some savings need to be revised in due course with the aim of reaching a "Final" position in most work streams in the coming year.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Nottingham South have been represented by the UDM and its solicitors in respect of vibration white finger and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Malcolm Wicks: The following table details how many Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Vibration White Finger (VWF) claims are currently registered with the UDM and its Solicitors in the Nottingham South constituency.
	
		
			  Solicitor  COPD claims registered  VWF claims registered 
			 Ashton Morton Slack (UDM) 56 51 
			 Beresfords (UDM) 76 85 
			 Hopkins (UDM) 5 0 
			 Lloyd Green (UDM) 0 0 
			 Moss (UDM) 46 45 
			 UDM 195 108 
			 Vendside 4 0

Radio Spectrum Harmonisation

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which  (a) military and  (b) other devices are affected by Commission Decision 2006/771/EC, OJL312 of 11 November 2006, on harmonisation of the radio spectrum for use by short range devices; whether a permit system will follow; what representations he has received from the toy industry on this Decision; what the role was of his Department in reaching this Decision; what opportunities for auctioning band width will follow; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Recruitment

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department spent on recruitment advertising in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: When running recruitment campaigns, we will look to use the media most likely to attract people with the necessary skills. Across the civil service, a range of media are used from local newspapers, specialist magazines e.g. Economist or People Management; the internet, to the more general public sector sections of the national newspaper job advertising.
	The line management units generally meet recruitment costs from their own delegated budgets and there are no centrally held records for advertising costs.

Renewable Energy: Research

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department has spent on research on  (a) nuclear energy,  (b) clean coal technology,  (c) solar power,  (d) wind power,  (e) hydro-electric power,  (f) marine renewable energy and  (g) energy from biomass in the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry, through the Technology Programme, and the Research Councils' expenditure in support of research and related training is given in the following table.
	In addition, the Research Councils (RCs) are providing funding of £13.88 million over the period 2004-09 for the UK Energy Research Centre (which undertakes a range of research relating to sustainable energy) and energy is included in the work of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (which has some £15.8 million funding from the Research Councils over 2000-08).
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Technology  Funding body  Funding for 2001-02  Funding for 2002-03  Funding for 2003-04  Funding for 2004-05  Funding for 2005-06 
			 Nuclear fission DTI(1) 2.00 2.10 2.10 2.20 2.30 
			  RCs 0.33 0.31 0.21 0.11 0.95 
			 Nuclear fusion DTI 14.40 14.80 0 0 0 
			  RCs(2) 0 0 15.90 22.70 20.60 
			 Clean coal DTI 4.40 3.00 5.00 (3)6.50 (4)— 
			  RCs(5) 1.12 1.35 1.25 1.83 1.93 
			 Solar PV DTI 1.50 4.50 3.10 2.00 (4)— 
			  RCs 3.54 2.77 2.38 2.68 2.53 
			 Wind power DTI 1.20 1.40 1.40 1.50 (4)— 
			  RCs 0.33 0.49 0.48 0.24 0.13 
			 Hydro DTI 0.10 0.20 0.10 0 (4)— 
			  RCs(6) — — — — — 
			 Marine DTI 1.00 2.70 5.00 1.30 (4)— 
			  RCs 0.61 0.62 0.83 1.00 1.03 
			 Biomass DTI 1.30 1.60 3.20 1.00 (4)— 
			  RCs(7) 0.75 0.93 1.18 1.25 2.02 
			 (1) Expenditure is to assist emergency support arrangements provided by the Met Office in the event of a nuclear release into the atmosphere, and includes a contribution towards the cost of the underpinning meteorological modelling capability. This funding is not provided through the Technology Programme. (2) Responsibility for funding fusion transferred from DTI to EPSRC in April 2003. (3) Estimated figure. (4) Final figures for DTI spend in 2005-06 are not available at this time. (5) Expenditure by Research Councils on conventional energy including clean coal technologies, but excluding carbon capture and storage. (6) Very low level of expenditure cannot be established definitively at this time. (7) Includes Research Council expenditure on biofuels.

Softwood

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will meet representatives from the wood panel industry to discuss the lower forecasts of softwood availability.

Malcolm Wicks: Officials are meeting with the wood panel industry to discuss the Renewables Obligation (RO). A consultation on changes to the RO began on9 October 2006 and will close on 5 January 2007. The Government will consider the Forestry Commission's report United Kingdom: New Forecast of Softwood Availability as part of the consultation on the RO. The consultation is available through the following link:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page34162.html

Tobacco

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions about reduced ignition propensity cigarettes officials in his Department have had with representatives of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association.

Ian McCartney: Following the Government's written ministerial statement on Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarettes on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 67W5, the Tobacco Manufacturers Association arranged a presentation for officials from Communities and Local Government, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Health on 5 October, setting out their concerns regarding the introduction of Reduced Ignition Propensity of cigarettes and a possible European technical standard.

UK Trade and Investment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many commercial officers serve in each branch of UK Trade and Investment in  (a) the European Union and  (b) the United States of America; and what percentage change is expected in these offices in the next (i) 18 months and (ii) 36 months.

Ian McCartney: Expressed as Full-Time Equivalents (FTE), there are current 342.7 staff engaged in trade and investment work in the European Union (288.35 on trade development and 54.35 on inward investment work). In the USA, where UKTI has a fully integrated trade and inward investment network, there are129 staff engaged on UKTI work.
	In order to deploy increased UKTI resources in the emerging markets as required in UKTI's strategy "prosperity in a Changing World", published in July 2006, UKTI's resources in the EU and USA in the period through to 2008 will reduce by 9.5 per cent. and 13 per cent. respectively. It is not possible to predict how resources will change over 36 months.
	The UK's traditional markets are changing and UKTI's strategy, based on extensive consultation, is adopting a new approach in such countries. For example, a "hub und spoke" arrangement is being introduced in some parts of the overseas network, to provide a more cost-effective and integrated services to British business. In the USA, resources will be better focused on the US states which offer real export or inward investment opportunities for the UK. Although there have been reductions in some parts of the US network, we are strengthening UKTI's teams in California and Florida, to reflect their importance for British business.

Departmental Energy Policy

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to make her Department carbon neutral.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2012. To fulfil this commitment we have developed an energy strategy supported by a detailed action plan. We are making full use of the refurbishment of our headquarters at Cockspur Street to reduce our carbon emissions. For example we are using light fittings that are 30-60 per cent. for efficient than the current fittings. The Department is supplied by 100 per cent. renewable energy supplied under the OGC Buying Solutions Energy Contract.
	DCMS is working with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Office for Climate Change to ensure that we offset any carbon emissions which we cannot reduce. We have devised a scheme to assist and advise our sponsored bodies to offset their emissions which we hope to launch early next year.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many value for money exercises on the use of  (a) management consultants and  (b) professional advisers were conducted by her Department in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Whilst value for money underpinsthe Department's project methodology, it has not conducted any specific value for money exercises on the use and employment of consultants and advisers, in the last five years.

Departmental Studies

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which studies have been commissioned by her Department from  (a) external agencies,  (b) companies,  (c) academics and  (d) individuals in 2006.

David Lammy: Studies commissioned by DCMS in 2006 are as follows:
	 Academics
	Measuring elasticity of tourism demand
	Casino impacts scoping study
	Evaluating the benefits of the 7th July assistance centre
	Independent technical review on sport and leisure facility equity indicators
	Sport's contribution to achieving wider social benefits
	 Companies
	A literature review and survey of statistical sources on remote gambling
	Economic impact of DCMS cultural investment
	Creative industries analysis
	Live music impact study
	BBC charter review research
	Review of evidence base for delivering SP2/PSA3
	Assess local authority delivery against national standards
	Licensing Act 2003: the experience of smaller establishments in applying for live music authorisation
	Willingness to pay for work to inform license fee setting
	Assessing the readiness of social housing sector for digital switchover
	Assessing the impact of 2005 Gambling Act on internet gambling
	Creative industry promotion—an international perspective
	International dimension of the creative economy
	Exploring creative industry spillovers
	Governance of non-departmental public bodies
	Knowledge economy
	Scoping links between the creative industry and the rest of the economy
	Museums indicators revisions
	Heritage protection review assessment of eight pilot projects
	Peer review of English Heritage
	Public value research
	Literature review (sponsored jointly with the Cabinet Office)
	KPMG's advice on costs of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games
	Valuation of the horserace totalisator board

TV and Radio Energy Consumption

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the average energy consumption per annum of an  (a) (i) digital and (ii) analogue television and  (b) (A) digital and (B) analogue radio; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have analysed the performances of over 630 televisions sold in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and has concluded that the difference in energy consumption between analogue and integrated digital televisions is negligible.
	The annual energy consumption of a television varies significantly with screen size and television type, and defining what constitutes a 'typical' television is difficult. However, for a 32 in widescreen cathode-ray television, the estimates are that the annual consumption will be 292 kWh, and 310 kWh for a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen of the same size. A 42 in (a typical size for this technology) plasma TV will consume 746 kWh per year.
	The total energy consumption of all UK televisions has risen in recent years. However this is not a result of the development of integrated digital turners but a function of increased TV ownership, the trend towards larger screen sizes, and the migration away from cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions to other technologies.
	In many cases the use of an integrated digital tuner will negate the need to purchase a separate set-top digital TV adapter at digital switchover. The average consumption of a typical terrestrial set-top adapter is 60 kWh per year. Public communications about digital television switchover reinforce this point by advising consumers to purchase digital, rather than analogue, if they are upgrading a television.
	We do not currently have sufficient information to provide a comparison between the performance of analogue and digital (DAB) radios. However, we have identified that many portable DAB radios are supplied with external power supply units which are less efficient—and therefore consume more energy—than those sold with comparable analogue products. We will work with retailers and manufacturers to seek to address this issue. As these are relatively new products, there are likely to be efficiency gains as the products mature.

Arrests

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested and subsequently not cautioned or charged with any offence in each police authority area in each of the last five years, broken down by ethnicity.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 December 2006
	Numbers of arrests and cautions by police force area and ethnicity have been published in associationwith successive annual editions of the section 95 publication, "Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System", and are available on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/section951.html, along with a table of the percentage of arrests which lead to a caution (tables 5.1, 5.6 and 5.7). Recently revised tables for arrests and the percentage of arrests which lead to a caution for 2003-04 are given in the table.
	Also included in the publication are available data for prosecutions by ethnicity in magistrates courtsfor the period requested (table 6.1), and available data for the total number tried in Crown courts by ethnicity, for 2003 (table 6.4) and 2004 (table 6.3). available data for the total number tried in Crown Courts by ethnicity, for 2003 (table 6.4) and 2004 (table 6.3).
	
		
			  Table 5.1: Total arrests for Notifiable Offences, 2003-04( 1) 
			   Ethnic appearance of person arrested  
			  Police force area  White  Black  Asian  Other  Unknown  Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 22,011 1,326 332 177 418 24,264 
			 Bedfordshire 10,234 2,268 1,750 81 46 14,379 
			 Cambridgeshire 10,826 624 467 232 176 12,325 
			 Cheshire 13,260 212 98 37 28 13,635 
			 Cleveland 20,370 232 638 144 84 21,468 
			 Cumbria 12,632 38 79 75 8 12,832 
			 Derbyshire 20,419 892 848 92 126 22,377 
			 Devon and Cornwall 27,917 340 182 157 234 28,830 
			 Dorset 11,840 358 102 141 31 12,472 
			 Durham 17,214 97 71 96 164 17,642 
			 Essex 26,326 1,693 515 1,088 291 29,913 
			 Gloucestershire 10,557 543 119 77 213 11,509 
			 Greater Manchester 69,517 4,831 5,046 569 2,633 82,596 
			 Hampshire 40,001 1,499 960 1,296 — 43,756 
			 Hertfordshire 15,358 1,706 988 236 95 18,383 
			 Humberside 24,449 474 362 271 214 25,770 
			 Kent 33,010 1,371 1,307 140 1,026 36,854 
			 Lancashire 42,265 772 1,959 63 2 45,061 
			 Leicestershire 14,961 1,536 2,089 447 1 19,034 
			 Lincolnshire 16,050 201 216 238 82 16,787 
			 London, City of 2,471 1,133 511 151 — 4,266 
			 Merseyside 47,213 1,652 231 268 541 49,905 
			 Metropolitan Police 102,057 58,985 17,010 6,562 640 185,254 
			 Norfolk 14,540 486 134 77 28 15,265 
			 Northamptonshire 11,278 998 316 50 1 12,643 
			 Northumbria 52,278 597 840 285 50 54,050 
			 North Yorkshire 13,966 137 98 137 183 14,521 
			 Nottinghamshire 28,589 2,125 947 1,245 683 33,589 
			 South Yorkshire 32,709 1,892 1,356 420 1 36,378 
			 Staffordshire 23,794 766 845 235 — 25,640 
			 Suffolk 11,631 816 152 106 50 12,755 
			 Surrey 14,998 727 691 176 83 16,675 
			 Sussex 30,785 1,810 750 457 144 33,946 
			 Thames Valley 40,601 4,943 3,466 468 182 49,660 
			 Warwickshire 7,680 329 265 41 72 8,387 
			 West Mercia 20,640 612 518 149 114 22,033 
			 West Midlands 52,514 10,401 8,456 1,483 108 72,962 
			 West Yorkshire 61,164 5,029 7,469 578 215 74,455 
			 Wiltshire 8,231 369 139 61 373 9,173 
			 Dyfed Powys 13,227 69 50 31 30 13,407 
			 Gwent 14,611 205 370 133 172 15,491 
			 North Wales 19,373 100 80 49 236 19,838 
			 South Wales 33,674 1,154 654 412 257 36,151 
			 England and Wales 1,117,241 116,348 63,476 19,231 10,035 1,326,331 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5.7: Percentage of arrests which resulted in a Caution for Notifiable Offences, 2003-04( 1) 
			   Ethnic appearance of person  
			  Police force area  White  Black  Asian  Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 13.4 7.1 19.6 17.9 
			 Bedfordshire 20.4 11.6 14.9 19.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 13.4 9.0 9.4 16.5 
			 Cheshire 20.1 1.4 10.2 19.7 
			 Cleveland 11.8 10.3 5.6 12.1 
			 Cumbria 15.5 18.4 6.3 16.4 
			 Derbyshire 11.5 10.3 9.4 11.8 
			 Devon and Cornwall 24.9 17.9 17.6 24.8 
			 Dorset 13.5 3.1 13.7 13.1 
			 Durham 13.6 4.1 2.8 13.4 
			 Essex 14.8 7.3 10.3 14.0 
			 Gloucestershire 23.3 12.0 20.2 22.5 
			 Greater Manchester 12.9 11.5 15.8 12.7 
			 Hampshire 16.8 9.5 5.7 16.3 
			 Hertfordshire 18.1 11.1 14.5 17.2 
			 Humberside 11.1 3.6 8.0 10.7 
			 Kent 19.5 7.6 8.3 20.8 
			 Lancashire 13.2 12.3 16.3 13.4 
			 Leicestershire 13.5 7.5 12.8 13.1 
			 Lincolnshire 11.5 6.0 6.0 11.4 
			 London, City of 24.3 16.2 19.4 21.5 
			 Merseyside 8.5 8.5 11.7 8.5 
			 Metropolitan Police 17.0 13.6 17.8 16.1 
			 Norfolk 15.3 5.8 20.1 15.2 
			 Northamptonshire 20.4 16.7 23.1 21.5 
			 Northumbria 23.5 17.4 31.0 23.7 
			 North Yorkshire 16.1 13.1 18.4 16.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 13.1 9.8 24.7 13.9 
			 South Yorkshire 9.9 4.9 8.2 10.2 
			 Staffordshire 20.8 15.5 4.7 20.8 
			 Suffolk 26.8 15.0 30.9 26.0 
			 Surrey 27.0 21.5 28.9 26.4 
			 Sussex 22.9 9.1 18.9 21.7 
			 Thames Valley 11.3 7.4 9.4 12.2 
			 Warwickshire 27.5 11.6 23.4 26.9 
			 West Mercia 26.4 15.8 18.0 26.4 
			 West Midlands 19.6 16.9 21.5 20.4 
			 West Yorkshire 13.7 13.3 14.7 13.8 
			 Wiltshire 22.6 17.6 25.2 23.2 
			 Dyfed Powys 31.9 14.5 42.0 32.1 
			 Gwent 22.2 13.2 8.9 21.8 
			 North Wales 15.4 20.0 16.3 15.3 
			 South Wales 13.4 10.4 13.6 13.3 
			 England and Wales 16.6 12.7 16.2 16.6 
			 (1) Revised figures.  Note: Comparisons based upon the 'Other' and 'Unknown' groups have been excluded due to the small numbers involved.

Asylum Seekers

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers were deported after having completed a community service order in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is notheld centrally by the immigration and nationality directorate and to provide this would involve an individual examination of case records at disproportionate cost.

Asylum Seekers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers  (a) returned voluntarily and  (b) were returned forcibly between 1 January 2006 and 30 September 2006 to (i) Democratic Republic of Congo, (ii) Eritrea, (iii) Iran, (iv) Sudan and (v) Zimbabwe.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows the number of principal asylum applicants removed from the UK in the first three quarters of 2006, broken down by type of removal and destination.
	It is not possible to say at what stage in the asylum process people are at the time of their removal, because those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylumare available on the Home Office's Research and Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Removals, voluntary departures and assisted returns( 1)  of asylum applicants( 2) , excluding dependants, nationals of Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and Iran quarter 1 to quarter 3, 2006( 3,4) 
			  Number of principal applicants 
			  Nationality  Q12006  Q22006  Q3 2006  Q1-Q3 total 
			  Democratic Republic of Congo 
			 Total principal asylum applicants removed(2) 25 35 30 85 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Democratic Republic of Congo 15 20 20 50 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 10 15 10 35 
			  
			 Persons removed and voluntary departures(5,6) 15 20 25 60 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Democratic Republic of Congo 10 10 15 40 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 5 10 5 20 
			  
			 Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes(7) 5 15 5 25 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Democratic Republic of Congo 5 10 * 15 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 5 5 5 10 
			  
			  Eritrea 
			 Total principal asylum applicants removed(2) 65 105 140 310 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Eritrea * — — * 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 65 105 140 310 
			  
			 Persons removed and voluntary departures(5,6) 65 105 135 310 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Eritrea * — — * 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 65 105 135 310 
			  
			 Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes(7) — — * * 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Eritrea — — — — 
			 removed to other and destination unknown — — * * 
			  
			  Iran 
			 Total principal asylum applicants removed(2) 165 195 135 495 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Iran 95 115 85 295 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 75 80 50 200 
			  
			 Persons removed and voluntary departures(5,6) 75 65 75 210 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Iran 30 30 35 95 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 45 35 40 115 
			  
			 Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes(7) 95 130 60 285 
			  Of whom: 
			 removed to Iran 65 85 50 200 
			 removed to other and destination unknown 30 45 10 85 
			 (1) Includes enforced removals, persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (2) Figures rounded to the nearest five, with — = 0, * = one or two, and may not sum due to rounding. (3) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, excluding dependants. (4) Provisional figures. (5) Includes persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (6) Excludes Assisted Voluntary Returns. (7 )Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. May include some cases where enforcement action has been initiated.

Border Control

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many security staff are engaged in border control activities at regional airports in the West Midlands.

Liam Byrne: There is currently a total of 203 immigration nationality directorate border control operational staff deployed within the Midlands region to meet all services requiring immigration control. Operational staff comprise of assistant immigration officers, immigration officers, chief immigration officers and Her Majesty's inspectors. Staffing levels are constantly reviewed based on volume of traffic and risk assessments and the number of staff at any given location can change.

BrakeCare Bereavement Packs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State forthe Home Department what the reasons were for withdrawing funding for the BrakeCare bereavement pack in 2007; and what related services for road crash victims are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government are funding the Brakecare guide for bereaved families and friends in 2006 and are actively considering possible future funding routes, including the Victim's Fund.
	The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime includes an obligation on the police to provide close relatives of a victim of road death with timely information about their case and an enhanced service. The core funding provided to Victim Support allows them to provide a Witness Service in all Crown and magistrates courts. If a road traffic incident involves a court case, the victim or their family can access this support. Other voluntary groups, including Brake, RoadPeace and the Campaign Against Drinking and Driving, also provide support and advice to serious road crash victims.

Correspondence

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of Statefor the Home Department how many items of correspondence have been received by his Department since 5 May 2005; and what percentage of correspondence received in that period was answered within 15 days of receipt.

Liam Byrne: Between 5 May 2005 and 22 October 2006, the Home Office's correspondence tracking system shows that 120,219 items of correspondence were received. This number does not include letters or emails addressed to individuals by name, which are passed directly to the addressee for reply, and are not recorded or managed on the central system. The number also excludes correspondence sent to the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) since 1 April 2006; letters from members of the public to Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) and Her Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS); or correspondence received as part of an organised campaign.
	The following table gives a breakdown of the totals received in each month, and for each area of the Department for which records are held. In thecurrent calendar year 92 per cent. of ministerial correspondence received in the Home Office, not including IND and agencies, has been replied to within 15 working days—up from 78 per cent. in 2005.In October 2006, 97 per cent. of ministerial correspondence received by this central Home Office was replied to within 15 days. In all other areas, where the target is 20 working days, performance over the specified period was 81 per cent. The percentage of all correspondence answered in 15 working days was61 per cent.
	
		
			  Month  Ministerial correspondence (central Home Office only—15 working day target)  Letters from members of the public (central Home Office only—20 working day target)  E-mails from members of the public (central Home Office only—20 working day target)  Ministerial correspondence (IND only—20 working day target)  Official replies to MPs (IND only—20 working day target)  Ministerial correspondence (Her Majesty's Prison Service—20 working day target)  Total 
			  2005
			 May 220 804 454 756 1,393 28 3,655 
			 June 1,047 1,597 940 1,526 2,802 38 7,950 
			 July 973 1,531 908 1,472 2,671 28 7,583 
			 August 726 1,494 919 1,288 2,309 37 6,773 
			 September 600 1,146 1,192 1,364 2,176 43 6,521 
			 October 779 1,216 1,378 1,314 2,267 40 6,994 
			 November 928 1,421 1,496 1,541 2,460 50 7,896 
			 December 843 999 1,003 1,223 1,903 58 6,029 
			 
			  2006
			 January 709 1,985 1,352 1,060 2,369 48 7,523 
			 February 799 1,639 1,484 1,141 2,386 60 7,509 
			 March 1,033 1,427 1,740 1,431 2,685 51 8,367 
			 April 653 962 1,187 1,090 2,056 42 5,990 
			 May 733 964 1,331 1,308 2,398 44 6,778 
			 June 724 1,254 1,227 1,413 2,436 40 7,094 
			 July 802 1,640 989 1,255 2,254 75 7,015 
			 August 601 1,145 1,013 942 2,036 41 5,778 
			 September 762 856 965 1,038 2,105 42 5,768 
			 October 918 727 896 778 1,623 54 4,996 
			 Total 13,850 22,807 20,474 21,940 40,329 819 120,219 
			 Replied to in 15 working days (percentage) 92 70 75 48 46 81 61 
			 Replied to in 20 working days (percentage) n/a 92 92 74 69 94 81

Departmental Expenditure

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments his Department has made to security firms for protection services since 1997; for what purposes each payment was made; which 20 businesses have been paid the greatest amount for such services in that period; and what the amount was in each case.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 28 November 2006
	The Department does not hold central records of the payments the Department has made to security firms for protection services since 1997 or the 20 contractors that have been paid the greatest amount in that period. To obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	Information on the total spend with contractors for the last two financial years and the current financial year to date is in the table.
	Ecovert FM Ltd is the Home Office headquarters PFI contractor and provide a 24-hour, seven days a week security guarding service for 2 Marsham street via their sub-contractor First Security Group. The guarding costs are one element of the overall PFI bill and the figures in the table are estimated costs. Capita Business Services is the Criminal Records Bureau's PPP contractor and provide a 24-hour, seven days a week security guarding service via their sub-contractor.
	The remaining contractors provide 24-hour, seven days a week security guarding services for other Home Office and executive agency buildings. Security guarding services include protection from damage or distress caused by accident, fire, terrorist or criminal activity, protection of people, the premises and property and control of access and egress.
	Physical security measures are provided to the IND estate and include the following elements: provision for intruder detection, closed circuit television, automatic access control and metal detection systems. These measures are provided by MOD Security Services Group and the annual cost for the last two years is £3 million per annum.
	
		
			  Total year spend 
			  £ 
			  Contractor  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Ecovert FM Ltd (First Security Group) — 1,500,000 (1)1,600,000 
			 Wackenhut 978,109 1,211,687 — 
			 ICTS UK 31,044 31,044 — 
			 Securicor 118,320 365,938 — 
			 Sabrewatch 92,088 155,663 — 
			 Chubb 201,348 807,808 — 
			 Capita Business Services 105,034 87,319 (2)67,821 
			 ISS Pegasus Security — 939,341 828,000 
			 OCS Guarding Ltd 1,299,915 1,566,178 — 
			 Group 4 Securicor — 112,560 (3)63,476 
			 Taylormade Investigations and Security Services Ltd — — 70,816 
			 Total 2,825,858 6,777,538 2,630,113 
			 (1) To November 2006 (2) To September 2006 (3) To October 2006

Departmental Funding

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conferences have been funded in whole or in part by his Department in the last 12 months; how many attendees there were at each; and what the cost of each conference was to his Department.

Liam Byrne: The amount spent on conference activity by the Home Office in 2005-06 was £10,594,000 including on: events associated with 7 July 2005 London bombings; engagement with the Muslim communities; "Tackling Drugs: Changing Lives"; the Bichard Review; the EU Presidency; New Asylum Model and Rebalancing of Sentencing. To gain the information about what conferences have been funded in whole or in part by his Department in the last 12 months and how many attendees there were at each could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many value for money exercises on the use of  (a) management consultants and  (b) professional advisers were conducted by his Department in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Requirements for management consultants and professional advisers are subject to value for money reviews at the point of purchase. The commercial teams across the Home Department follow OGC best practice guidelines. Records are not held centrally. Information on the number of cases for each of the past five years is not available as the cost of collating would be disproportionate.

Departmental Staff

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what disciplinary action has taken place in his Department since his appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: A full response to this PQ could be provided only at disproportionate cost as disciplinary action is delegated across the Department to management levels.
	However we are able to provide the following details of the number of centrally recorded penalties that have been applied to staff as a result of disciplinary action in the Core Home Office and its agencies from 5 May 2006 up until 31 October 2006.
	Warnings—158
	Dismissals—48
	Penalties other than warnings and dismissals—22
	Other disciplinary action short of dismissal can include, when both parties agree, (singularly or in combination) a ban on promotion, financial penalties, formal counselling, regrading and re-training, although this list is not exhaustive.

DNA Database

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the guidance issued by his Department on the release of information from the National DNA Database to overseas police authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: The Home Office does not issue such guidance. Requests for the release of information from the National DNA Database to overseas police authorities are dealt with by the UK National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB) based at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), who act in accordance with their internal procedures. Requests are only processed where it is clear that the request is in the interest of prevention and detection of crime, national security or the data subject (i.e. the individual who is the subject of the exchange request). They are also subject to a risk assessment, taking into account the justification and the proportionality of disclosure of the information in line with human rights legislation. If cleared for processing, a one-off search of the DNA Database is made by the Custodian and information fed back to UK NCB.

DNA Database

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA profiles of UK citizens recorded on the National DNA Database have been shared with overseas police authorities.

Joan Ryan: The National DNA Database (NDNAD) records the names of those who have been arrested and had a DNA sample taken, and the force which arrested them, but not whether they are UK citizens.
	The mechanism for handling requests from overseas police authorities for information from the NDNAD is that those requests are sent to the UK National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB) based at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), UK NCB considers whether the request is in the interest of prevention and detection of crime, national security or the data subject (i.e. the individual who is the subject of the exchange request). It also carries out a risk assessment, taking into account the justification and the proportionality of disclosure of the information in line with human rights legislation. If UK NCB clears the request, a one-off search of the DNA Database is made and information fed back to UK NCB.
	Before 2004, no central records were kept on requests from overseas authorities for data from the National DNA Database as these were very rare. Between August 2004 and May 2006,121 profiles from the NDNAD were provided to UK NCB to supplement fingerprint information (i.e. fingerprints had been supplied to an overseas authority in relation to an individual residing in their country following which that authority made a further request for the individual's DNA profile).
	Also, during the financial years 2004-05 and 2005-06, 398 NDNAD search results were provided to UK NCB in response to requests from overseas authorities, either to see if there was anyone on the NDNAD who matched a DNA trace taken from the scene of a serious crime abroad, or to identify an unknown deceased person who may have been British. However, there is no central record of the number of cases in which these searches produced a result which led to a profile being sent to an overseas authority, and the number in which the search result was simply that there was no trace on the NDNAD.
	The benefits of the international exchange of DNA are illustrated by a case in 2000. 60 Chinese immigrants were found in a Dutch-registered truck in the port of Dover, 58 of whom had suffocated to death.
	Following a complex Anglo-Dutch investigation, Perry Wacker, a Dutch lorry driver, and Ying Quo, of Essex, were sentenced to 14 and six years respectively at Maidstone Crown Court in 2001 for manslaughter and conspiracy to smuggle immigrants into the UK; another 10 individuals were convicted in the Netherlands. In both the UK and the Netherlands, exchanged DNA data was used as evidence in court and formed a key element in the case.

DNA Database

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of safeguards designed to prevent  (a) hacking and  (b) identity theft from the National DNA Database; and when these safeguards will next be reviewed.

Joan Ryan: The security policy developed by the Custodian of the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is to keep the threat of both hacking into and identity theft from the NDNAD under constant review. This includes independent security penetration testing carried out by specialists approved by the National Information Assurance Authority. Such tests are carried out on a regular basis and have shown that the NDNAD systems provide a high level of protection against the threat of external attacks.

DNA Database

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people registered on the National DNA Database were subsequently  (a) convicted,  (b) charged but not convicted and  (c) not convicted in relation to the events leading to the DNA sample being taken, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) age group and (iii) ethnicity.

Joan Ryan: The National DNA Database (NDNAD) records the DNA profile for a particular individual. It does not hold data on arrest and criminal records. This information is held on the police national computer (PNC). The facilities do not exist to cross-refer between all records on the NDNAD and PNC to the level of detail that would be required to provide the information sought.
	However, we can say that information provided by the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) from the PNC indicated that as at 14 July 2006, when there were approximately 3,457,000 individuals on the database, 2,922,624 of these persons also had an entry on PNC. Of these, 2,317,555 (79.3 per cent.) had a conviction or caution (i.e. a criminal record). The difference between the two figures is attributable to: young persons under 18 who have a formal warning or reprimand recorded on PNC; persons who have been charged with a recordable offence where proceedings are on-going; and persons who have been arrested for a recordable offence but no further action was taken.

Fingerprinting

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statutory provisions authorise the taking of roadside fingerprint tests.

Tony McNulty: Section 117 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 amended the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to allow police officers the power to take fingerprints away from a police station, if need be without consent, following an offence and prior to an arrest.
	Section 117 of the 2005 Act has not yet been brought into force and its enactment will be dependent on the successful outcome of the current trial of hand held mobile fingerprint readers.

Fingerprinting

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory provisions persons who refuse roadside fingerprint tests may be required to attend police stations for their identity to be verified.

Tony McNulty: Section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as amended by section 110 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, deals with all powers of arrest. Section 24(5) allows an officer to arrest, following an offence, if the name or address of the subject is not known, cannot be ascertained, or believed to be false. The roadside fingerprint check may obviate the need for the officer to make an arrest.

Fingerprinting

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what protocols his Department is putting in place to ensure that fingerprints taken at roadside tests are permanently deleted from police computer systems.

Tony McNulty: The Lantern device has been configured to hold a maximum of 100 sets of fingerprints. This works on a rolling 100 basis so that if a 101st set of prints is taken then the first set would be deleted. In addition, officers have been provided with a button that allows then to delete all prints from the device and they are being trained to use that function at the start and end of their shift. Prints can be also deleted with the subject watching at the end of the encounter. The Lantern device is a tool to aid officers in identifying individuals at the roadside and hence to assist them in deciding how to proceed. Once the encounter has been concluded there is no reason to retain the prints further. No demographic data (i.e. name, date of birth etc.) is input into the Lantern device therefore no purpose can be achieved by storing them. Fingerprints taken at the roadside can be deleted with the subject watching. In any event the device database is purged at regular intervals during the operating day. Fingerprints obtained at the roadside, are not collected with any identifying demographic data, and therefore remain anonymous, so no purpose can be achieved by storing them.

Highly-skilled Migrant Programme

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in the UK who qualify to work under the highly-skilled migrant programme scheme will fail to have their qualification renewed unless they find a job paying them more money.

Liam Byrne: Information of this kind is not available. In order to qualify for further leave to remain as a highly skilled migrant under the new rules, applicants must now meet robust points criteria based on their qualifications, previous earnings, age and UK experience. It will also be mandatory for applicants to demonstrate a good standard of English language. The salary an applicant needs to reach for their previous earnings in order to qualify for a Highly Skilled Migrant programme extension will depend on the points awarded against the other criteria.
	I have also announced transitional arrangements to avoid disadvantaging those who fail to meet the new requirements but are making a useful contribution to the UK. Those working in a skilled job, but who do not meet the new criteria, will be allowed to switch into work permit employment.

Identity Cards

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department into which Government fund fines generated from offences committed under the Identity Cards Act 2006 will be paid; and for what purposes those funds will be used.

Joan Ryan: Any receipts from fines imposed by courts for the criminal offences of possession of false identity documents, unauthorised disclosure of information, providing false information or tampering with the register, as set out in sections 25-30 of the Identity Cards Act, will be disposed of in the same way as receipts from all other fines imposed by the criminal courts.
	Sums received by the Secretary of State in respect of civil financial penalties imposed under the Act will be paid into the Consolidated Fund, as specified in Section 31(7).

Illegal Fox Hunts

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to prevent illegal fox hunts.

Tony McNulty: Enforcement of the Hunting Act is a matter for the police and the prosecuting authorities. The police have made it clear that they will enforce the Hunting Act and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has issued guidance for police forces on the practical aspects of enforcing the Hunting Act.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conferences have been hosted by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each conference.

Liam Byrne: During the last 12 months IND has hosted the following conferences for external stakeholders (costs in brackets):
	e-borders—Six carriers liaison events (£28,000)
	NASS—Dispersal and Healthcare Needs Conference (£11,000)
	Social Policy Unit—Refugee Integration Forum Conference and six website launches (£110,000)
	Managed Migration—five stakeholder consultation events (£56,000)
	Three corporate stakeholder events (£22,000).
	These costs are inclusive of venue hire, delegate and audio visual costs but exclusive of staff costs. In addition to these conferences IND has held a number of internal staff events and consultation exercises which are not included in this list.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters the Immigration and Nationality Directorate received from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to  (a) within 10 days of receipt,  (b) within 20 days of receipt and  (c) after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Our target is to respond to 95 per cent. of Members' letters on Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND)—related matters within 20 working days. Figures for the number of letters received are published quarterly on the MPs' area of the IND website and we intend to include figures for responses (and also emails and telephone inquiries) when the current quarter's data are published on the website, in early January.

Immigration and Passport Control

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last reviewed the  (a) number of staff and  (b) frequency of deployment of immigration and passport control staff at sea-port and rail terminals in relation to airports; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 6 December 2006
	The review of IND border control staffing is a continual process at the air, rail and sea ports. As part of our commitment to provide a secure border, staffing levels are constantly reviewed in line with risk assessments and business needs. Immigration coverage is based upon a range of factors, including the nature and frequency of traffic and the numbers of passengers requiring leave to enter at each port. In addition, business targets and the associated bids to fund any additional posts are also taken into account when determining a port's staffing complement.
	Border control staff are deployed to meet all services requiring immigration control and on a risk-assessed basis. As part of our "tipping the balance" initiative we are increasing the use of intelligence-led mobile teams to provide greater coverage of the border. The provision of advance passenger information by carriers under the e-Borders programme is increasing the border agencies' ability to conduct informed risk assessments and deploy resources in a targeted manner.

Institutional Arrest Warrants

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information the Serious Organised Crime Agency collects on institutional arrest warrants affecting UK citizens; and what responsibility the Agency has to respond to inquiries from hon. and right hon. Members.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 6 December 2006
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) receives European Arrest Warrants, some of which relate to UK citizens. SOCA is also in receipt of circulations via the Interpol channel which refer to UK citizens. Circulations via the Interpol channel can be made on a bi-lateral, regional or worldwide basis; therefore Interpol London may not be made aware of all requests relating to UK citizens. SOCA will however do its best to respond to inquiries from hon. and right hon. Members.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary written questions his Department received in each parliamentary session since 2001; and how many of these questions  (a) were not answered because of disproportionate cost,  (b) were not answered,  (c) received answers referring back to a previous answer(i) asked by the hon. Member and (ii) asked by another hon. Member and  (d) were grouped together for answer.

Tony McNulty: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Parliamentary Questions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what target his Department has for the maximum acceptable amount of time to answer parliamentary written questions; and what percentage of parliamentary answers met that target in each parliamentary session since 2001.

Tony McNulty: The Department aims to answer parliamentary questions within the timescales specified by Parliament. It publishes its performance statistics on answering PQs within its annual report. Copies of these reports can be found in the House Library.

People Trafficking

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had on the merits of the UK signing the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government have made progress in deciding whether to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Vernon Coaker: The UK is still considering whether to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. The Government are examining how the Convention's approach could best be harmonised with effective immigration controls. I have had internal meeting with fellow Ministers to discuss the merits of the Convention.

Police

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines he gives to police authorities on their vehicle procurement decisions.

Tony McNulty: Police authorities and their chief constables are responsible for their vehicle procurement decisions. However, since 1990, the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) and the National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM), via the use of framework arrangements has implemented a collaborative approach on a national basis for the provision of police vehicles and their spare parts. While the frameworks referred to above are widely used, the ultimate purchasing decision remains at a local level and will take into account local operational needs.

Police

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of costs to Essex police arising from the proposals of the police force mergers; how much Essex police force has applied for in compensation; and how much money they have received from his Department.

Tony McNulty: The claim from Essex police was for £169,870 and the Home Office has made an offer of £100,000.

Police: Absences

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the rates of police officer absences for sickness were in each police force area in England and Wales in the last period for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The total number of police officer hours lost to sickness for the period 2005-06 can be found at.
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performance-and-measurement/performance-assessment/
	These assessments form part of the Policing Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF) a hard copy of this document will be placed in the Library.

Police: Numbers

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are of each rank per 100,000 of population in each police force in England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officer strength by rank (FTE)( 1)  per 100,000 population( 2)  by police force in England and Wales as 31 March 2006 
			   ACPO rank  Chief superintendent  Superintendent  Chief inspector  Inspector  Sergeant  Constable 
			 Avon and Somerset 0.3 0.8 1.3 2.7 10.4 32.2 178.7 
			 Bedfordshire 0.5 0.9 1.6 2.6 10.2 27.7 169.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 0.3 0.9 2.2 3.3 9.2 31.3 149.2 
			 Cheshire 0.4 0.6 1.5 2.4 11.7 34.6 172.3 
			 Cleveland 0.7 1.1 2.5 2.7 14.6 44.2 241.8 
			 Cumbria 0.8 1.2 1.6 3.4 11.7 35.0 201.8 
			 Derbyshire 0.4 0.7 1.5 2.9 9.7 30.2 166.3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0.3 0.6 1.4 2.3 10.0 31.8 172.2 
			 Dorset 0.4 0.6 1.7 3.9 10.0 31.1 168.2 
			 Durham 0.5 1.2 1.5 3.0 14.8 41.1 226.1 
			 Essex 0.3 0.7 1.3 2.7 8.8 28.6 160.8 
			 Gloucestershire 0.7 1.2 1.4 4.0 12.2 33.6 174.4 
			 Greater Manchester 0.3 0.7 2.2 3.4 14.3 43.7 253.2 
			 Hampshire 0.2 0.4 1.9 2.6 10.1 33.5 162.3 
			 Hertfordshire 0.4 0.6 1.5 2.9 8.6 25.2 168.8 
			 Humberside 0.5 1.1 1.8 3.8 12.8 35.9 195.6 
			 Kent 0.3 0.6 1.4 3.0 10.8 29.9 180.5 
			 Lancashire 0.3 0.8 1.3 2.9 12.7 39.1 196.3 
			 Leicestershire 0.4 1.2 1.7 2.9 10.9 31.3 192.5 
			 Lincolnshire 0.4 0.7 1.2 2.1 9.7 27.4 142.0 
			 London(3) 0.6 1.3 3.2 6.6 23.2 71.6 321.9 
			 Merseyside 0.5 1.0 2.3 4.4 16.1 46.9 243.9 
			 Norfolk 0.4 1.2 1.3 3.6 9.7 30.7 145.9 
			 Northamptonshire 0.6 0.9 1.4 3.2 10.5 29.9 160.3 
			 Northumbria 0.4 0.9 1.9 3.7 13.7 42.6 227.9 
			 North Yorkshire 0.5 0.9 2.0 2.9 11.5 35.4 162.9 
			 Nottinghamshire 0.4 0.6 1.8 3.3 11.9 37.1 187.8 
			 South Yorkshire 0.4 0.9 1.8 3.4 13.2 37.3 201.6 
			 Staffordshire 0.5 0.6 1.3 3.0 9.1 33.8 170.8 
			 Suffolk 0.4 1.0 1.5 2.9 9.2 26.2 150.0 
			 Surrey 0.6 0.7 2.1 3.4 9.6 30.1 138.0 
			 Sussex 0.3 1.1 1.4 3.1 11.6 30.3 159.2 
			 Thames Valley 0.1 0.6 1.7 2.2 10.1 26.7 160.8 
			 Warwickshire 0.8 1.0 1.5 3.2 9.7 26.5 155.3 
			 West Mercia 0.3 0.8 1.4 2.3 9.5 32.3 155.7 
			 West Midlands 0.2 1.1 1.4 2.1 13.6 42.9 256.2 
			 West Yorkshire 0.3 0.9 1.7 3.1 13.2 35.7 214.8 
			 Wiltshire 0.5 1.3 1.1 3.0 11.0 25.9 153.4 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0.6 1.0 2.2 3.0 11.9 38.2 180.2 
			 Gwent 0.5 0.9 1.8 2.7 11.1 40.8 205.6 
			 North Wales 0.6 1.0 2.2 2.2 11.7 38.0 186.5 
			 South Wales 0.4 0.7 2.4 4.5 13.2 43.4 206.6 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (2 )Population data taken from Mid-2002 Population Estimates (ONS). (3 )Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan police are combined.

Prisons

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the escape of Mark Ryder from HMP Highpoint.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I wrote to the hon. Member on7 December.

Prisons

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the Integrated Drug Treatment System funding for drug treatment has been allocated to HMP Peterborough in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 7 December 2006
	The Home Office and the Department of Health are funding £12 million in 2006-07 for improved clinical drug treatment for prisoners. A first wave of 17 prisons was selected to implement the full Integrated Drug Treatment System programme; and a further 28 prisons selected to utilise the funds to improve drug services. HM Peterborough was not included in these first45 prisons.
	The first wave prisons were selected to ensure a spread between geographical areas, male and female prisons and public and contracted prisons; to involve all Government Office and HM Prison Service regions; and thereby provide a broad base for evaluation. These prisons were also chosen because evidence showed an overriding need to improve the quality of their clinical drug services.

Prisons

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many released prisoners who were not assessed for deportation at the end of their term remain at large.

Liam Byrne: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary explained on 9 October to the House that the director general of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate had written to the Home Affairs Committee on that date. In this letter the director general provided the latest breakdown of the most accurate and robust information which the Department holds on the 1,013 prisoners released without consideration of deportation.
	A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House and a further update will be provided to the Home Affairs Committee early next year.

Average Earnings

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of  (a) male and  (b) female (i) full-time and (ii) part-time employees in (A) Scotland, (B) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland and (C) the United Kingdom had weekly gross earnings, including overtime, below (1) £295.88, (2) £222.00 and (3) £189.38 in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the  (a) average and  (b) median (i) hourly and (ii) weekly gross earnings including and excluding overtime were for (A) male and (B) female (1) full-time employees and (2) part-time employees aged (u) 16-17, (v) 18-21, (w) 22-29, (x) 30-39, (y) 40-49 and (z) over50 years in (yy) Scotland and (zz) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what the  (a) average and  (b) median (i) hourly and (ii) weekly gross earnings including and excluding overtime were for (A) male and (B) female employees working in the (1) private, (2) public and (3) not classified sectors in (xx) Scotland and (yy) each of the unitary local authority areas in Scotland in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 December 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about earnings in Scotland. (104788, 104789 & 104790).
	Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay Award

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the effective pay award date is for staff in  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs; and what the actual implementation date was in each case in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The effective pay award date for staff in HM Treasury, together with the actual implementation date in each case in the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Effective pay award date  Implementation date 
			  Department HM Treasury   
			 2002 1 August 2002 August 2002 
			 2003 1 August 2003 October 2003 
			 2004 1 August 2004 December 2004 
			 2005 1 August 2005 September 2005 
			 2006 1 August 2006 November 2006 
		
	
	The effective pay award date for staff in HM Revenue and Customs and the former Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise, together with the actual implementation date in each case in the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Effective pay award date  Implementation date 
			  Department: Inland Revenue   
			 2002 1 August 2002 November 2002 
			 2003 1 August 2003 August 2003 
			 2004 1 August 2004 August 2004 
			
			  Department: Customs and Excise   
			 2002 1 June 2002 August 2002 
			 2003 1 June 2003 November 2003 
			 2004 1 June 2004 June 2004 
			
			  Department: Revenue and Customs   
			 2005 1 June 2005 February 2006 
			 2006 1 June 2006 June 2006

Economic Statistics: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the average household income was in City of York  (a) parliamentary constituency and  (b) council area in each year since 1992 for (i) working, (ii) retired and (iii) unemployed households;
	(2)  what the average income was of  (a) males and  (b) females working (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in City of York (A) parliamentary constituency and (B) council area in each year since 1992.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 December2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking:
	(1) what the average household income was in the City of York (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) council area in each year since 1992 for (i) working, (ii) retired and (iii) unemployed households (106679) and;
	(2) what the average income was of (a) males and (b) females working (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in City of York (A) parliamentary constituency and (B) council area in each year since 1992. (106680)
	(1) Estimates of household income which include income from earnings, benefits, pensions, investment income and other sources, are generally based on household surveys. The largest of these is the Family Resources Survey which has an annual sample in the UK of around 28,000 households. This is sufficient to produce estimates of household income at national and regional level, but not for smaller areas.
	However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recently published estimates of household income for wards for 2001/02 only. These estimates are based on a statistical model and are experimental statistics—this means they have been developed in accordance with the principles set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice but have yet to be fully accredited as National Statistics. These ward level estimates can be used to provide estimates of average household income for areas made up of wards.
	The estimates are mean net equivalised incomes. Equivalised household incomes are standardized to take into account different sizes and compositions of households. The standard household is deemed to be a two adult household with no children, and so these equivalised incomes can be interpreted as indicating a standard of living that would be achieved by a standard household with that income. The estimates are net of income tax, national insurance contributions, contributions to occupational pension schemes, and council tax
	Using these model-based estimates of household income, it is estimated that for the City of York parliamentary constituency in 2001/02, mean net income before housing costs was £360 per week, while after housing costs it was £320. For the City of York council area, the mean net income before housing costs was £374 per week, while after housing costs it was £339.
	(2) ONS does not produce statistics on the average income of individuals, however, average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work. ASHE is only available from 1997. The attached tables show Average Gross Weekly Earnings for the parliamentary constituency of City of York, and for the Unitary Authority council area of York, for the years 1997 to 2006.
	
		
			  Gross weekly pay for Employee jobs( a)  by Place of Work (parliamentary constituency) 
			   City of York 
			   Median  Mean 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time 
			   Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 2006 *509 **393 x **149 *600 *444 **144 *191 
			 2005 *501 *361 x **145 *549 *407 x *166 
			 2004(b) *474 *347 x **139 528 *414 x *154 
			 2004 *498 **346 x **142 *547 *418 x *157 
			 2003 *490 *328 x **124 515 *378 **143 *148 
			 2002 *466 *304 x **124 484 338 x *135 
			 2001 *408 *302 x **125 456 330 x *140 
			 2000 *407 *293 x **121 459 *324 x *127 
			 1999 *390 **268 x **102 442 *305 **107 *107 
			 1998 *387 *261 x **103 429 288 **94 *112 
			 1997 *386 *241 x **87 401 267 x *98 
		
	
	
		
			  Gross weekly pay for Employee jobs( a)  by Place of Work (council area) 
			   York Unitary Authority 
			   Median  Mean 
			   Full-time  Part-time  Full-time  Part-time 
			   Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female  Male  Female 
			 2006 *491 *391 x *146 *578 444 **148 *174 
			 2005 *454 *356 x *133 508 399 **140 *156 
			 2004(b) *460 *342 x *126 505 *398 x *147 
			 2004 *472 *342 x *130 526 *399 **158 *150 
			 2003 *446 *335 x **124 *490 *372 **139 *144 
			 2002 *448 *306 x *125 *475 *349 x *138 
			 2001 *402 *303 x **116 447 331 x *132 
			 2000 *403 *286 x **117 462 320 **93 *126 
			 1999 *382 *267 x *101 432 303 x *111 
			 1998 *372 *250 x *95 420 284 x *106 
			 1997 *363 *235 x *89 397 260 x *103 
			 (a) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (b) In 2004 additional supplementary surveys were introduced to improve the coverage of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Figures are presented both excluding and including the additional surveys for comparison purposes.  Guide to quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5%, we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.  Key: CV <= 5% * CV > 5% and <= 10% ** CV > 10% and <=20% x CV > 20% The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.  Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Furniture Manufacturing Businesses

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many furniture manufacturing businesses were  (a) registered and  (b) de-registered for VAT in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows the number of furniture manufacturers that have  (a) registered and  (b) de-registered for VAT in each year since 1997. The start of year stock of VAT registered businesses is also shown.
	
		
			  Number of VAT registrations, de-registrations and start of year VAT registered stock 1997-2005 
			   Registrations  De-registrations  Start of year stock 
			 1997 655 610 7,615 
			 1998 655 590 7,660 
			 1999 640 635 7,725 
			 2000 620 595 7,730 
			 2001 540 605 7,755 
			 2002 490 640 7,695 
			 2003 575 605 7,545 
			 2004 495 590 7,515 
			 2005 485 595 7,420 
			  Note: Figures are for SIC code 361, manufacturer of furniture.  Source: Small Business Service Analytical Unit, available from www.sbs.gov.uk/vat 
		
	
	VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 4.3 million businesses (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2005.

Insurance: Travel

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect on the income generated to the Exchequer has resulted from the extension of the higher rate of insurance premium tax to all travel insurance since 1998.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on insurance premium tax from individual types of insurance.

Lyons Review

John Cummings: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs have been relocated to  (a) the North East and  (b) elsewhere following the Lyons Review; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Strong progress has been made towards our target of relocating 20,000 civil service posts out of London and the south-east by 2010 and by the end of September 2006 more than 10,500 posts had already been moved to every nation and region in the UK. Of these more than 640 went to the north-east.

Mortality Rates

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the mortality rate was of  (a) men and  (b) women in Eastbourne in each year since 1996.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 December 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the mortality rate was of (a) men and (b) women in Eastbourne in each year since 1996. (105112)
	The attached table provides the age-standardised mortality rate for (a) men and (b) women in Eastbourne local authority for the years 1996 to 2005 (the latest available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Age-standardised mortality rates( 1) , Eastbourne local authority, 1996 to 2005( 2) 
			  Deaths per 100,000 
			   Males  Females 
			 1996 845 546 
			 1997 805 541 
			 1998 805 536 
			 1999 820 518 
			 2000 786 517 
			 2001 877 494 
			 2002 796 488 
			 2003 730 496 
			 2004 754 512 
			 2005 726 522 
			 (1) Age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. (2) Using local authority boundaries as of 2005 for deaths for all years shown.

Mortality Rates

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) diagnosis and  (b) mortality rate was for (i) chronic lung disease, (ii) coronary heart disease and (iii) cancer in each ward in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 December 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the (a) diagnosis and (b) mortality rate was for (i) chronic lung disease, (ii) coronary heart disease and (iii) cancer in each ward in Eastbourne constituency in each of the last 10 years. (105113)
	Figures on the incidence of chronic lung disease and coronary heart disease are not readily available. Mortality and incidence rates are not available for parliamentary constituencies which do not share boundaries exactly with a local authority, or with any combination of whole wards; consequently, figures are given for Eastbourne local authority. The numbers of deaths and cancer registrations per year in each ward in Eastbourne local authority are too small for the reliable calculation of rates.
	The attached tables provide (a) the age-standardised cancer incidence rate in Eastbourne local authority for the years 1995 to 2004 (the latest available), and (b) the age-standardised mortality rates for (i) chronic lung disease, (ii) coronary heart disease and (iii) cancer in Eastbourne local authority for the years 1996 to 2005 (the latest available).
	
		
			  Table 1: Age-standardised cancer incidence rates( 1, 2) , Eastbourne local authority( 3) , 1995 to 2004 
			   Cases per 100,000 
			 1995 343 
			 1996 343 
			 1997 343 
			 1998 386 
			 1999 402 
			 2000 344 
			 2001 353 
			 2002 375 
			 2003 294 
			 2004 360 
			 (1) Age-standardised cancer registration rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. (2) International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97 excluding non-melanoma skin cancer code C44. (3) Using local authority boundaries as of 2005 for cancer registrations for all years shown. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Age-standardised mortality rates for chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease and cancer( 1, 2) , Eastbourne local authority, 1996 to 2005( 3) 
			  Deaths per 100,000 
			   Chronic lung disease  Coronary heart disease  Cancer 
			 1996 30 136 164 
			 1997 22 120 192 
			 1998 34 104 197 
			 1999 27 109 181 
			 2000 26 101 176 
			 2001 25 116 184 
			 2002 24 124 175 
			 2003 34 104 167 
			 2004 26 98 185 
			 2005 18 111 180 
			 (1) Age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. (2) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for 1996 to 2000 (codes 490-494 and 496 for chronic lung disease, 410-414 for coronary heart disease, 140-208 for cancer), and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) for 2001 to 2005 (codes J40-J47 for chronic lung disease, I20-I25 for coronary heart disease, C00-C97 excluding C44 for cancer). The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the number of deaths from each cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (3) Using local authority boundaries as of 2005 for deaths for all years shown.

NASDAQ

George Mudie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates his  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have held meetings with NASDAQ in the last 12 months.

Edward Balls: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of market participants in the normal course of business.
	I refer the hon. Member to my comments in the House on 28 November 2006,  Official Report, column 989.
	In addition, over the last 12 months Treasury ministers and officials have met with the Dubai International Financial Exchange, Euronext (and LIFFE), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, ICE Futures, the London Metal Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, Nymex Europe, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Virt-x.

Office of Fair Trading

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) discussions and  (b) meetings have taken place between (i) officials and (ii) Ministers in his Department and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on the OFT investigation of default charges on (A) credit cards and (B) bank current accounts.

Edward Balls: No meetings have taken place between HM Treasury Ministers and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to discuss these investigations. Officials have discussed both the investigation into credit card default charges and the investigation into bank account default charges with the OFT on a purely informative basis as part of wider discussions on competition inquiries into the banking sector. The OFT is an independent competition and consumer protection authority and considers cases on the basis of the objective information it collects.

Planning Gain Supplement

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the responses to the Treasury's Planning Gain Supplement consultation paper.

John Healey: The Government will do so shortly, a summary of responses was published at the pre-Budget report. A list of organisations and individuals who responded to the consultation is available on the HM Treasury website.

Private Finance Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research he has commissioned into the impact of the secondary private finance initiative (PFI) market on the cost of PFI contracts.

John Healey: The Treasury has not commissioned specific research into the impact of secondary markets on the cost of PFI contracts. However chapter seven of the HM Treasury publication 'PFI: Strengthening Long Term Partnerships' (published March 2006, www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget.06/other-documents/bud-bud06-odpfi.cfm) sets out the Government's view on secondary equity markets in relation to PFI.

Social Investment Taskforce

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) running costs,  (b) expenses claimed by members,  (c) salaries paid,  (d) cost of the production of reports,  (e) cost of Departmental staff working time and  (f) other costs were of the Social Investment Taskforce in the last year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The Social Investment Taskforce was created in 2000 to investigate and apply the principles of community development finance to the creation of enterprise in disadvantaged areas.
	The taskforce members were selected for their expertise and all were unpaid. The taskforce was resourced by the UK Social Investment Forum, the Development Trusts Association and the New Economics Foundation. HM Treasury officials attended all four taskforce meetings in an observing capacity.

Social Security Benefits: Terrorism

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many households have had benefit payments restricted on suspicion of terrorism since July 2006;
	(2)  how many individuals listed for involvement in terrorism had  (a) benefits and  (b) other payments approved under licence by HM Treasury in each of the last 12 months.

Edward Balls: Since July 2006, six households connected with listed individuals have had their benefit payments restricted in accordance with the policy outlined in my written statement of 3 July 2006. In addition, over the last 12 months, we have licensed benefits payments for two listed individuals and issued 37 licences in relation to other payments, 35 of which are for legal expenses. Licences have been issued under both the terrorism and Al-Qaeda sanctions regimes, in accordance with our international legal obligations, and have included appropriate safeguards to prevent funds being diverted to terrorism.

Stamp Duty

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the likely annual reduction in revenue which would result from a 0 per cent. stamp duty rate for zero carbon homes, based on the current numbers of zero carbon homes;
	(2)  for how long the time limited 0 per cent. stamp duty rate for zero carbon homes will apply.

Edward Balls: PBR 2006 announced a time-limited stamp duty exemption for the vast majority of new zero carbon homes. Full details of this exemption will be published at the time of Budget 2007.

Taxation: Betting

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect on the income generated to the Exchequer has resulted from the amendments to betting duty announced in measure 33 of his 2003 Budget Report since 2003.

John Healey: Revenues from gambling taxes are published in the HM Revenue and Customs Betting, Gaming and Lottery Duties Bulletin, available at:
	http://www.uktradeinfo.co.uk/index.cfm?task=bullbett

Valuation Office

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency's computer-assisted mass appraisal system will be compatible with the National Identity Register.

John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency does not have a computer-assisted mass appraisal system. It has developed only an automated valuation model. The issue of compatibility with the National Identity Register does not therefore arise.

Accident and Emergency Services

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of accident and emergency services at  (a) Northwick Park Hospital and  (b) Central Middlesex Hospital.

Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the local national health service. However, NHS London has advised that in May 2006 the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust board, of which Northwick Park Hospital and Central Middlesex Hospital are both part, discussed options for reconfiguring services between the two hospital sites while reviewing the strategic outline case for redevelopment of Northwick Park Hospital.
	We understand no decision was taken then and the trust and host PCTs, Harrow and Brent, have since launched a three-month discussion programme with local people and other stakeholders about how local health services should be delivered in future.

Ambulance Service

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what ambulance response times to emergency calls were for every NHS trust in each year since 2000.

Ivan Lewis: Validated information about ambulance service's response times to emergency calls is collected each year by the Department on return KA34 and published annually. Copies are available in the Library and available on the Information Centre for Health and Social Care's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/icpubfolder_view

Ambulance Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance paramedics and technicians were employed in each ambulance trust  (a) on 11 September 2001 and  (b) in each year since.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of ambulance paramedics employed in each ambulance trust as at 30 September of each year since 2001. The work force census does not separately identify the number of ambulance technicians from the rest of the ambulance personnel staff group.
	headcount
	
		
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 England(1) 7,075 7,147 7,241 7,536 8,311 
			  of which:  
			 Avon Ambulance Service 185 196 229 262 258 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic Service 340 351 163 166 155 
			 Cumbria Ambulance Service 113 121 144 148 146 
			 Dorset Ambulance Service 154 169 134 158 158 
			 East Anglian Ambulance Service 440 467 348 374 401 
			 East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust 318 320 294 293 296 
			 Essex Ambulance Service 240 233 236 255 313 
			 Gloucestershire Ambulance Service 100 103 100 94 93 
			 Greater Manchester Ambulance Service 301 334 358 381 387 
			 Hampshire Ambulance Service 176 179 167 141 193 
			 Hereford & Worcester Ambulance Service 93 107 101 112 140 
			 Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust 39 38 38 43 45 
			 Kent Ambulance Service 202 191 223 213 248 
			 Lancashire Ambulance Service 136 166 198 210 232 
			 Lincolnshire Ambulance and Health Transport Service 191 181 191 207 225 
			 London Ambulance service 744 770 829 875 961 
			 Mersey Ambulance Service 416 281 337 298 416 
			 North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust 273 255 276 295 301 
			 Oxfordshire Ambulance 63 60 66 66 80 
			 Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service 117 101 179 196 177 
			 South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service 159 133 173 169 179 
			 Staffordshire Ambulance Service 183 206 191 200 428 
			 Surrey Ambulance Service 160 152 147 159 167 
			 Sussex Ambulance Services 217 254 249 278 234 
			 Tees East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust 297 298 313 315 309 
			 Two Shires Ambulance Service 90 92 90 111 134 
			 Warwickshire Ambulance Service 70 77 80 125 156 
			 West Midlands Ambulance Service 385 495 486 432 454 
			 West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service 251 252 284 320 334 
			 Westcountry Ambulance Service 432 464 516 541 568 
			 Wiltshire Ambulance Service 109 98 96 87 85 
			 (1) A small number of ambulance paramedics are employed outside ambulance trusts. These are included in the England totals to provide national figures.  Note: Ambulance service staff can be coded as: managers, paramedics, personnel or trainee personnel. The numbers in the table are for paramedics as reported by the trusts. It is possible that trusts may have revised the coding of some staff from paramedic to personnel and vice versa in the light of improved guidance on coding.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census

Bonuses

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid in bonuses to  (a) staff and  (b) senior managers in (i) strategic and special health authorities, (ii) NHS trusts and (iii) primary care trusts in (A) real and (B) nominal terms in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the pay of individuals in strategic and special health authorities, national health service trusts and primary care trusts is not collected centrally by the Department as part of its central returns collation of NHS information.
	NHS organisations are autonomous public bodies and as such, the pay of their senior executive teams are a matter of public record and published in their annual accounts.

Cancer Treatment

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist  (a) breast cancer,  (b) lung cancer,  (c) prostate cancer and  (d) colorectal cancer nurses work in the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected centrally.
	Specialist cancer nurses were not separately identifiable in the workforce census from the rest of the nursing workforce.

Chronic Illnesses

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to create centres of excellence for patients with chronic disability in Merseyside.

Ivan Lewis: Health services in the Mersey area, in conjunction with clinicians and patients, are developing care pathways to improve services for patients with chronic disability. These services will be patient-centred rather than having an organisational focus. Many patients with chronic conditions are cared for in their own homes.

Consultant Fees

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether fees due to a consultant on a full-time contract to an NHS hospital for reports are paid to  (a) the NHS and  (b) the consultant.

Ivan Lewis: 'Fee Paying Services' are covered by schedule 10 of the Consultant Contract (2003) Terms and Conditions of Service. 'Fee Paying Services' include the provision of specialist medical reports.
	Schedule 11 of the Consultant Contract (2003) Terms and Conditions of Service sets out the principles governing the receipt of fees for such services. It provides that the consultant should remit any fees to his/her employer when carrying out fee-paying work for other organisations during national health service time, unless the work involves minimal disruption and the employer agrees that it may be done in NHS time without the employer collecting the fee.
	For fee-paying work carried out in the consultant's own time, the consultant can retain the fee.
	The 2003 Consultant Contract was designed to clarify the NHS commitment and private practice commitment, and to provide stronger guarantees that private practice would not disrupt provision of NHS services or detract from NHS performance. Under the new arrangements, there is much greater transparency about consultants' contractual commitments to the NHS, and clear guidelines on private work.

Death Benefits

Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints in respect of delays in the payment of death benefits to bereaved relatives of NHS staff who die in service were made against the NHS Business Delivery Authority in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The National Health Service Business Services Authority pensions division do not collect data on complaints as their systems do not specifically identify all complaints received as a result of the late payment of death in service benefits. I understand that there have been five complaints about late payment of death in service benefit addressed to the pensions division managing director or referred by an hon. Member from January to November 2006.

Departmental Staff

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many temporary employees were contracted to work for her Department in 2005-06; and what the total cost of such employees was in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 1997-98.

Ivan Lewis: The average number of temporary staff employed by the Department, over the year 2005-06 was 70 full-time equivalent. Based on their average salary of £26,500 the total cost of such employees was £1,855,000.
	Information is not available for 1997-98.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many value for money exercises on the use of  (a) management consultants and  (b) professional advisers have been conducted by her Department in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department is committed to ensuring that the contracts it lets provide value-for-money, through competitive tendering, and by evaluating the performance of external consultants once contracts have ended. However, the Department does not currently record any central data on value-for-money exercises, and it is not possible to collate this, because of the disproportionate costs in doing so.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's annual budget is for employing workers on a consultancy basis; and how much of this budget has been used in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not set an annual budget for employing workers on a consultancy basis.
	However, the Department does record how much it spends on external consultancy services (where in-house resources were not available). Information for the previous five years is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  £000 
			 2001-02 7,056 
			 2002-03 7,266 
			 2003-04 10,031 
			 2004-05 12,800 
			 2005-06 (1)6,000 
			 (1) The 2005-06 spend is lower because the Department rectified some miscoding against the expenditure category codes to provide a more accurate figure of external consultancy spend.

Direct Payments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Gloucestershire are receiving direct payments.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has been informed by the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection that on the 31 March 2006 Gloucestershire reported a total of 241 adults and young people receiving direct payments.

Doctors: Leicester

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors are employed by the Leicester City Primary Care Trust area; and how many were employed in 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the format requested, there being no data for the number of doctors employed across all national health service providers specifically within the Leicester City Primary Care Trust area.
	The latest available NHS workforce figures are for September 2005. At that time 199 general medical practitioners (GPs) were employed by Eastern Leicester PCT and Leicester City West PCT, the forerunner organisations for the area now covered by Leicester City PCT.
	Figures for the number of GPs in employment in Leicester City in 1997 are not available.

Elderly Patients

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to improve the  (a) feeding and  (b) hygiene care of elderly people treated by the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: Essence of Care, published in 2001, provides a framework for improving the quality of the essential aspects of care, including feeding and hygiene care, in all health and social care settings. The benchmarking process outlined in Essence of Care enables services to identify best practice and to develop action plans to remedy poor practice.
	Through the National Patient Safety Association (NPSA), we are also taking action to ensure that patients are screened on admission to hospital to identify those at risk of malnutrition, and extending the use of protected mealtimes so that patients can concentrate on eating, and staff can give the help they need.
	A New Ambition for Old Age—Next Steps in Implementing the National Service Framework for Older People, published in April 2006, sets out the next phase of reform of older people's services and reaffirms the Government's commitment to ensuring that dignity considerations are embedded in all aspects of care. Since January 2006, the Department of Health has taken a number of steps to take forward the dignity in care agenda at a national level including, on14 November, the launch of the first Dignity in Care Campaign.

Hospital Car Parking

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that the forthcoming guide on hospital car parking charges to be issued by the income generation team meets the Department's disability equality duty under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.

Ivan Lewis: The forthcoming guide on hospital car parking charges as an income generation scheme will be assessed for its impact on disability equality as required by the disability discrimination legislation. It is for individual national health service organisations to satisfy themselves that they are meeting their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act. This will be highlighted in the aforementioned guide. Guidance on producing disability equality schemes has been made available to the NHS.

Hospital Car Parking

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the compliance of the "Transport and Car Parking" guidance issued by the Estates and Facilities Division in February 2006 with the Department's disability equality duty under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005;
	(2)  how trusts' compliance with departmental guidance on hospital car parking will be monitored; and what penalties trusts will face if they fail to comply with that guidance.

Ivan Lewis: The Department provides advice, such as the "Transport and Car Parking" guidance referred to in the question, to assist national health service bodies in the performance and management of their operations and services, but does not assess or monitor compliance.
	NHS bodies are legally autonomous and must satisfy themselves that they are meeting their legislative requirements, such as the disability equality duty under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.

King George's Hospital, Redbridge

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the running costs are for a full year's operation of the independent treatment centre based at King George's hospital, Redbridge.

Ivan Lewis: Independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) providers receive payments for the provision of services. Health care companies bidding for ISTC contracts do provide forecast running costs to the Department as part of the bidding process but this information is commercial in confidence.

Medical Staff: Gateshead and Blaydon

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many extra  (a) doctors,  (b) nurses and  (c) other health service staff have been employed in (i) Gateshead Primary Care Trust and (ii) Blaydon constituency since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the numbers of NHS staff in the Gateshead Primary Care Trust by main staff group as at 30 September each specified year.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 All staff 1,173 1,241 1,278 1,393 
			 All Doctors 147 151 162 161 
			 All Medical and Dental staff(1) 12 13 15 15 
			 All GPs(2) 135 138 147 146 
			 Practice staff(3) 452 459 435 439 
			 Practice Nurses 104 109 102 112 
			 Non-Medical staff total 574 631 681 793 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 334 353 381 450 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 230 237 253 306 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 104 116 128 144 
			 Qualified Allied Health Professions 74 87 91 102 
			 Other Qualified Scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 30 29 37 42 
			 Support to clinical staff 165 199 211 238 
			 Support to doctors and nursing staff 156 176 187 217 
			 Support to ST&T staff 9 23 24 21 
			 NHS infrastructure support 73 79 89 105 
			 Central functions 43 35 34 47 
			 Hotel, property and estates 1 1 2 3 
			 Managers and senior managers 29 43 53 55 
			 Other staff or those with unknown classification 2 0 0 0 
			 (1) Excludes medical Hospital Practitioners and medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals. (2) All Practitioners includes Contracted GPs, GMS Others, PMS Others, GP Registrars and GP Retainers. (3) Practice Staff includes Practice Nurses, Direct Patient Care, Admin and Clerical and Other. Data covers: NHS Staff directly employed by the PCT; and GP practices who are commissioned by the PCT.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census. The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will  (a) place in the Library and  (b) make available on her Department's website a copy of Avoidable Deaths: Five Year Report of the National Confidential Inquiry into suicide and homicide by people with mental illness.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 7 December 2006
	"Avoidable Deaths" is a product of the Centre for Suicide Prevention at the University of Manchester. The centre has been commissioned by the National Patient Safety Agency to investigate suicides, homicides and sudden unexplained deaths in mental health services and make recommendations on how they might be prevented.
	I understand from the director of the National Confidential Inquiry into suicide and homicide by people with mental illness (NCI) that the full version of "Avoidable Deaths" is only available from the website at:
	www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/suicideprevention/nci/
	Copies of the full report are available in the Library.
	A link to the NCI website can be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/mentalhealth

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many homicides have been attributed to people  (a) diagnosed with schizophrenia and  (b) receiving treatment for schizophrenia in each of the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: According to the latest five-year report of the national confidential inquiry (NCI) into suicide and homicide by people with mental illness, the number of homicides by people with schizophrenia is around 30 per year which represents 5 per cent. of all homicides. NCI's findings show that half the perpetrators with schizophrenia were current or recent patients while one third had no previous contact with services.
	NCI's previous five-year report published in 2001 also found that the number of homicides by people with schizophrenia was around 5 per cent. of all homicides.

NHS Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the financial position of  (a) primary care trusts and  (b) hospital trusts in North Yorkshire in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the 2005-06 final audited accounts and the 2006-07 quarter one and two forecast outturn position for NHS trusts and primary care trusts in the North Yorkshire area.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Organisation name  2005-06 final accounts surplus/(deficit)  2006-07 quarter 1 forecast outturn surplus/(deficit)  2006-07 quarter 2 forecast outturn surplus/(deficit) 
			 Tees East and North Yorks Ambulance Service NHS Trust 0 (3,900) n/a 
			 Craven, Harrogate and Rural District PCT (1,988) 0 (4,700) 
			 Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT (4,505) (4,745) 0 
			 Scarborough, Whitby and Rydale PCT (5,932) (5,932) (5,257) 
			 Selby and York PCT (23,651) 0 (9,693) 
			 Yorkshire Wolds and Coast PCT (11,498) 0 (7,332) 
			 Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust (8,961) (16,800) (7,489) 
			 York Hospitals NHS Trust 9 0 0 
			  Sources: 1. 2005-06 audited summarisation schedules. 2. 2006-07 monthly financial monitoring returns.

NHS Funding Formula

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact on Northamptonshire's NHS of the capitation element of the NHS funding formula.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 7 December 2006
	The weighted capitation formula is one of four elements used to set allocations for primary care trusts (PCTs). The other three elements are recurrent baselines (the previous year's allocation plus in-year adjustments), distances from targets (the difference between weighted capitation targets and recurrent baselines) and pace of change policy (which determines the level of increases given to PCTs).
	The national formula is overseen by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation and is applied consistently to all PCTs. The impact on the 2006-07 and 2007-08 allocations to PCTs in Northamptonshire is shown in the table.
	
		
			   2006-07 and 2007-08 percentage increase in funding  2007-08 closing percentage distance from target 
			 Cherwell Vale 24.1 -3.5 
			 Daventry and South Northamptonshire 26.1 -3.5 
			 Northampton 23.0 -3.5 
			 Northamptonshire Heartlands 29.4 -3.5 
			 South Peterborough 20.2 -2.2 
			 England average 19.5 0.0 
			  Note:  The table is based on allocations made to 303 PCTs before they were reduced to 152 PCTs on 1 October 2006. From 1 October 2006 there is one Northamptonshire PCT.

NHS Operating Framework

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to table 94a on page Ev249 of her Department's Memorandum to the Health Committee, HC 1692-i, how the overall 2006-07 tariff uplift of4 per cent. may be reconciled with the figure of 1.5 per cent. published in paragraph 5.2, page 18, of her Department's document The NHS in England: the Operating Framework for 2006-07, published on26 January 2006.

Andy Burnham: The gross uplift to the 2006-07 tariff was 6.5 per cent., less 2.5 per cent, efficiency, resulting in a 4 per cent. net uplift.
	There were however some technical adjustments to the tariff quantum which resulted in the overall increase in value of the tariff from one year to the next being 1.5 per cent. This information is contained in "Implementing Payment by Results: Technical Guidance 2006-07, Executive Summary" which is available in the Library.

NHS Professionals

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what efficiency measures are in place within NHS Professionals to ensure a quick and simple process.

Ivan Lewis: NHS Professionals have now centralised their recruitment teams under a national head of recruitment. They have also implemented a bespoke recruitment administration system which is now delivering efficiencies and reduced the average length of processing time because of faster links between recruitment, interview and training teams.
	The new recruitment system has enabled NHS Professionals to link its recruitment activity directly to both its national booking system and will, in time, link directly to the National Electronic Staff Records service.
	The process complies with all employment legislation in the NHS, provides a genuine audit trail for all flexible workers joining NHS Professionals and helps ensure that trusts have people with appropriate skills and competencies working through NHS Professionals.

NHS Vacancies

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of time was between the initial advertisement of a vacancy through NHS Professionals and the first working day of the successful applicant in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Ivan Lewis: NHS Professionals (NHSP) does not recruit to specific vacancies—it recruits to its bank of flexible workers and these staff are available to work in its partner trusts as and when required. The bank includes staff who hold substantive posts at NHS trusts and those staff who work only as bank staff through NHS Professionals. Staff who hold substantive roles and wish to work additional shifts at the same trust are recruited to the bank on average in seven working days. The average period of time for non-substantive post holders is 35 working days but this varies depending on Criminal Records Bureau checks and reference returns.
	The process takes this length of time because NHSP recruitment operates within stringent guidelines published by the Department designed to protect staff and patients.

Nurses: Leicester

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses are employed by the  (a) Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital,  (b) Glenfield Hospital in Leicester and  (c) Leicester General Hospital; and how many were employed at each in 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The latest available national health service workforce figures are for September 2005. At that time 3,645 qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff were employed by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. This trust was formed in 2000, through the merger of the three NHS trusts of Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester General Hospital. Figures for the three individual hospitals are not available post-2000.
	In September 1997, the number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed by the three hospitals is as follows:
	
		
			  Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed 
			   Number 
			 Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust 1,435 
			 Glenfield Hospital NHS Trust 578 
			 Leicester General Hospital NHS Trust 832 
			 Total 2,845 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Protection of Vulnerable Adults

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many cases individuals have challenged their inclusion on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list by appealing to the Care Standards Tribunal; how many of those appeals were successful; and what the  (a) average and  (b) maximum time taken has been for an appeal to be decided.

Ivan Lewis: The number of individuals who have challenged their inclusion on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list by appealing to the Care Standards Tribunal is 48. Of those, 32 appeal cases have been completed, of which 11 cases have been won by the appellants and 21 by the Secretary of State.
	I understand from the President of the Care Standards Tribunal that the average length of time taken for an appeal to be decided is 74.4 days and the maximum time taken has been around 355 days.

Radiographers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the  (a) actual and  (b) optimum number of (i) diagnostic and (ii) therapeutic radiographers working in the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: As at September 2005 there were a total of 14,539 radiographers working in the national health service, of which 12,700 are diagnostic radiographers and 1,839 were therapeutic radiographers.
	It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local NHS trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services and take action to recruit the appropriate staff required to deliver these services.

School Nurses

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) school nurses and  (b) school health assistants have been made redundant in the last three years in (i) Coventry and (ii) England; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the ratio of school nurses to school clusters is reached.

Ivan Lewis: Information on redundancies of school nurses and school health assistants is not collected centrally.
	The Department along with the Department for Education and Skills is continuing to ensure that the profile of school nurses remains high nationally.
	Ministers and the Chief Nursing Officer continue to communicate the importance of school nurses to the national health service, and work with professional bodies to promote their modern role.

Southampton Independent Sector Treatment Centre

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the contract for the proposed Southampton Independent Sector Treatment Centre to be signed.

Ivan Lewis: The contract is still in negotiation. Financial close is scheduled for May 2007.

Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps Waltham Forest primary care trust has taken to minimise the level of emergency admissions to Whipps Cross hospital; and what average daily admissions were  (a) before and  (b) after the implementation of such measures.

Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for Waltham Forest primary care trust (PCT).
	However, I am advised by NHS London that some of the measures introduced by the PCT include appointing community nurses to work closely with district nurses to target frequent accident and emergency (A & E) visitors; using new software to identify patients at high risk of re-admission, increasing the number of clinicians in A & E; working with social services to ensure people have appropriate care and introducing health visitors to offer proactive care to people who visit A & E.
	The figures requested are not held centrally.

Willesden Community Hospital

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of Willesden Community Hospital.

Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the local NHS.

York Hospitals NHS Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much capital expenditure York Hospitals NHS Trust incurred in 2005-06 for  (a) software licences,  (b) buildings,  (c) assets under construction,  (d) plant and machinery,  (e) transport equipment and  (f) information technology; and what the total capital expenditure by the Trust was in that year.

Andy Burnham: Capital expenditure by York Hospitals NHS Trust in 2005-06 has been set out in the following table.
	
		
			   £000 
			 Software licences 260 
			 Buildings excluding dwellings 11,058 
			 Dwellings 80 
			 Assets under construction 1,311 
			 Plant and machinery 1,923 
			 Transport equipment 0 
			 Information technology 137 
			 Total capital expenditure 14,769 
			  Source: Audited summarisation schedules of the York Hospitals NHS Trust 2005-06

York Hospitals NHS Trust

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the end-of-year revenue expenditure of York Hospitals NHS Trust was, excluding expenditure on services subsequently transferred to the primary care trust, in each year since 1992,  (a) in cash terms and  (b) at current prices.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table for York Hospitals NHS Trust for 1998-99 to 2005-06, which are the earliest and latest years for which this information is available.
	Figures given are for the total operating expenses of the trust in each year. It is not possible to provide figures excluding expenditure on services subsequently transferred to the primary care trust as this expenditure cannot be identified from the submitted returns.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Cash terms  Real terms 
			 1998-99 105,193 123,841 
			 1999-2000 120,568 139,128 
			 2000-01 128,130 145,803 
			 2001-02 125,733 139,758 
			 2002-03 120,797 130,242 
			 2003-04 135,174 141,535 
			 2004-05 155,526 158,477 
			 2005-06 168,825 168,825 
			  Source: Audited summarisation schedules of the York Hospitals NHS Trust 1998-99 to 2005-06. Treasury GDP Deflator used to provide the real terms figures with 2005-06 as the baseline

Allergies

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to protect pupils with nut or seed allergies who buy snacks from school tuck shops and vending machines.

Jim Knight: The decision to provide products containing nuts and the sale of nuts in vending machines is a matter for local decision making. This approach is endorsed by the School Food Trust, who have issued guidance, and the Food Standard's Agency, who are working with the National Governors' Association to update their guidance to governors "Food Policy in Schools—A Strategic Framework for School Governors".

College Fires

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many fires there have been in  (a) further education colleges and  (b) higher education institutions in each region in the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: holding answer 30 November 2006
	I have been asked to reply.
	The available information covers fires attended by fire and rescue services occurring in further education establishments, these include the full range of colleges, institutions and universities.
	
		
			  Fires in further education establishments 1996-2005 
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 (1)2005 
			 England 494 474 452 478 406 467 367 409 438 422 
			
			 North West 79 54 65 58 54 68 79 83 102 91 
			 North East 54 24 53 48 44 29 24 36 31 27 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 71 55 27 39 41 33 20 36 42 34 
			 West Midlands 60 76 80 76 56 69 53 54 51 55 
			 East Midlands 20 52 17 52 26 36 27 28 38 33 
			 East of England 36 29 32 49 29 59 44 44 13 44 
			 South East 60 80 73 69 90 51 57 38 78 59 
			 South West 41 41 36 41 26 45 26 26 31 32 
			 London 73 63 69 46 40 77 37 64 52 47 
			 (1)Provisional  Notes: 1. Excludes fires during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003. 2. Figures for 1996-2004 are based on sampled data grossed to fire and rescue service totals.  Source: Fire and rescue service returns to the Department for Communities and Local Government

Foundation Degree Courses

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost is to the public purse of the completion of a foundation degree, broken down by subject.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England have stated that the average recurrent teaching grant for foundation degrees assuming completion in two years full-time (or two years full-time equivalent part-time) at 2006-07 prices is as follows.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Subject type  Full-time  Part-time 
			 Laboratory based science and engineering 12,023 12,186 
			 Other high cost subjects with a laboratory, studio or field work element 8,679 9,099 
			 Classroom based subjects 6,199 6,872

Free School Meals

Mark Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of pupils in the Stoke Central constituency received free school meals in each of the last three years.

Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools( 1) : school meal arrangements, position in January each year 2004 to 2006, Stoke Central constituency 
			   All pupils( 2) 
			   Number on roll  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 2004 6,625 1,590 24.0 1,882 28.4 
			 2005 6,503 1,444 22.2 1,765 27.1 
			 2006 6,538 1,491 22.8 1,679 25.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1) : school meal arrangements, position in January each year 2004 to 2006, Stoke Central constituency 
			   All pupils( 2) 
			   Number on roll  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 2004 3,213 734 22.8 806 25.1 
			 2005 3,212 609 19.0 750 23.3 
			 2006 3,130 375 12.0 703 22.5 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes boarders and dually registered pupils. (3) Number of pupils who took a free school meal on the day of the census in January.

Free School Meals

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in  (a) Oxfordshire and  (b) Wantage constituency received free school meals in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The available information is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools( 1) : school meal arrangements 1997 to 2006 position in January each year Oxfordshire local authority and Wantage parliamentary constituency 
			   Oxfordshire local authority 
			   Number on roll( 1,2)  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 1997 45,747 4,045 8.8 5,048 11.0 
			 1998 46,017 3,596 7.8 4,490 9.8 
			 1999 46,428 3,257 7.0 4,406 9.5 
			 2000 46,302 3,167 6.8 4,363 9.4 
			 2001 45,994 2,973 6.5 4,210 9.2 
			 2002 45,309 2,808 6.2 3,943 8.7 
			 2003 45,943 2,861 6.2 4,012 8.7 
			 2004 46,518 3,129 6.7 4,615 9.9 
			 2005 47,313 2,805 5.9 4,599 9.7 
			 2006 47,079 3,127 6.6 4,194 8.9 
		
	
	
		
			   Wantage parliamentary constituency 
			   Number on roll( 1,2)  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 1997 7,692 598 7.8 702 9.1 
			 1998 7,889 510 6.5 638 8.1 
			 1999 7,935 488 6.1 634 8.0 
			 2000 8,056 487 6.0 628 7.8 
			 2001 8,218 458 5.6 627 7.6 
			 2002 8,272 441 5.3 591 7.1 
			 2003 8,130 434 5.3 581 7.1 
			 2004 7,972 465 5.8 630 7.9 
			 2005 8,215 436 5.3 619 7.5 
			 2006 8,210 418 5.1 587 7.1 
			 (1) 1997 to 2002 includes dually registered pupils and excludes boarding pupils. (2 )From 2003 includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils. (3 )Number of pupils who took a free school meal on the day of the census in January. 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained secondary schools( 1) : school meal arrangements 1997 to 2006 position in January each year Oxfordshire local authority and Wantage parliamentary constituency 
			   Oxfordshire local authority 
			   Number on roll( 1,2)  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 1997 36,456 2,375 6.5 3,381 9.3 
			 1998 36,922 2,215 6.0 3,325 9.0 
			 1999 37,165 2,178 5.9 3,296 8.9 
			 2000 37,609 2,257 6.0 3,477 9.2 
			 2001 38,271 2,207 5.8 3,641 9.5 
			 2002 38,892 2,436 6.3 3,433 8.8 
			 2003 38,603 2,105 5.5 3,308 8.6 
			 2004 38,105 2,042 5.4 3,029 7.9 
			 2005 37,940 1,898 5.0 3,050 8.0 
			 2006 37,790 2,084 5.5 2,866 7.6 
		
	
	
		
			   Wantage parliamentary constituency 
			   Number on roll( 1,2)  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 1997 5,452 264 4.8 361 6.6 
			 1998 5,567 244 4.4 428 7.7 
			 1999 5,678 237 4.2 358 6.3 
			 2000 5,799 235 4.1 372 6.4 
			 2001 5,891 225 3.8 374 6.3 
			 2002 6,056 247 4.1 392 6.5 
			 2003 6,185 241 3.9 379 6.1 
			 2004 6,308 268 4.2 396 6.3 
			 2005 6,333 279 4.4 437 6.9 
			 2006 6,356 301 4.7 423 6.7 
			 (1) 1997 to 2002 includes dually registered pupils and excludes boarding pupils. (2 )From 2003 includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils. (3 )Number of pupils who took a free school meal on the day of the census in January.

Graduate Teacher Programme

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people on the Graduate Teacher Programme are below the age of 25.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of first-year trainees commencing the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) in the academic year 2004/05 and 2005/06 together with a breakdown of those aged under 25.
	
		
			  GTP First-year Trainees 
			   2004/05  2005/06 
			 Under 25 1,290 1,420 
			 25 plus 4,060 3,990 
			 Percentage of under 25 24 26 
			  Notes: 1. GTP is an employment-based route. 2. Figures are individually rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: The TDA employment-based data management system (EBRDMS).

Graduate Teacher Programme

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students took part in  (a) the Graduate Teacher Programme and  (b) the Post Graduate Certificate of Education in the last year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of first-year trainees commencing the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) in the academic years 2004/05 and 2005/06; and the number of first-year trainees commencing a mainstream postgraduate programme in 2004/05. Information for the postgraduate programme for 2005/06 is not yet available. The mainstream data include all first-year trainees on a postgraduate programme leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Not all of these programmes will include the award of PGCE and we do not collect information about the PGCE status of the programme.
	
		
			  First-year Trainees Commencing Postgraduate Initial Teacher Training in England 
			   2004/05  2005/06 
			 GTP 5,360 5,410 
			 Mainstream PG 24,930 n/a 
			 Total 30,290 n/a 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for mainstream PG include universities and other HE institutions, SCITT and OU, but exclude employment-based routes. 2. GTP is an employment-based route. 3. Figures are individually rounded to the nearest10 and may not sum.  Source: The TDA employment-based data management system (EBRDMS) and the performance profiles.

Nursery Places: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many nursery places there were in York in each year since 1992.

Beverley Hughes: The available information on the number of part-time funded places filled by three and four-year-olds in York local authority area is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of part-time funded places( 1,2)  filled by three and four-year-olds Local authority: York Position in January each year 
			   Part-time funded places filled by 3-year-olds  Part-time funded places filled by 4-year-olds 
			   Maintained nursery and primary schools( 3)  Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers  Total 3-year-olds  Maintained nursery and primary schools( 4)  Other maintained and private, voluntary and independent providers  Total 4-year-olds 
			 1997 680 (5)— 680 (5)— (5)— (6)1,900 
			 1998 750 (5)— 750 (5)— (5)— (6)1,800 
			 1999 810 (5)— 810 (5)— (5)— (6)1,900 
			 2000 790 (7)0 800 (5)— (5)— (6)2,000 
			 2001 700 (7)920 1,600 (5)— (5)— (6)1,800 
			 2002 690 (7)950 1,600 1,500 (6)390 1,900 
			 2003 640 (7)980 1,600 1,500 (8)380 1,900 
			 2004 660 (9)900 1,600 1,500 (10)340 1,800 
			 2005 700 (9)940 1,600 1,400 (10)380 1,700 
			 2006 630 (9)1,000 1,700 1,400 (10)420 1,900 
			 (1) A place is equal to five or more sessions and can be filled by more than one child. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate. (3) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census. (4 )Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census. (5 )Not available. (6 )Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise. (7 )Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise. (8 )Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census. (9 )Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census. (10 )Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.  Note: Nursery Education Grant funding for early years places was introduced in 1996-97 for four-year-olds and in 1999-2000 for three-year-olds, therefore, data is not available prior to 1997. 
		
	
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 32/2006 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2006 (final)" in August, which is available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.

Vocational Education

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what independent evaluation his Department has commissioned the cost of centres for vocational education.

Phil Hope: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council as they lead on the delivery of Centres for Vocational Excellence. Mark Haysom, Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council has written directly to the hon. Member with the information on evaluation of the cost of Centres for Vocational Excellence and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 8 December 2006:
	Thank you for your query regarding the total funding of the CoVE programme and the number of learners affected by CoVE since it's inception in Sept 2001.
	In response, please find attached a spreadsheet containing information answering your queries.
	Please note however:
	 Learner Numbers
	Learners are only counted if any of their programme was indicated as CoVE learning.
	Learner numbers are rounded to the nearest 100 learners.
	There is a known under-count of CoVE learners in 2002/03.
	Learner counts are by year—if a learner was enrolled on a 2 year program, that learner would be counted in each year.
	For 2001/02, recording of CoVE learners was not possible.
	Learner recording system does not include non LSC funded provision.
	 Financial Information
	Financial projections are accurate as of December 2006.
	Changes in status of CoVEs could delay payments across financial years.
	Removal/withdrawal of status will reduce the total cost of the programme.
	
		
			  Academic Year: Number of Learners Indicated as Being on CoVE Provision 
			   FE Learners  WBL Learners  Total 
			 2001/02 (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 2002/03 50,400 1,100 51,500 
			 2003/04 91,200 4,200 95,400 
			 2004/05 126,900 7,200 134,100 
			 2005/06 161,600 10,700 172,300 
			 Total 430,100 23,200 453,300 
			 (1) Not recorded.  Notes: 1. Learners are counted only if any of their programme was indicated as CoVE learning. 2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100 learners. 3. There is a known under-count of CoVE learners in 2002/03. 4. Learner counts are by year—if a learner was enrolled on a 2-year program, that learner would be counted in each year. 5. For 2001/02, recording of CoVE learners was not possible. 6. Learner recording system does not include non-LSC funded provision.  Source: Individualised Learner Records for 2002/03, 2003/04,2004/05 and 2005/06. 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial Year 
			  £ 
			   Revenue  Capital  Total 
			 2001-02 1,920,000 2,880,000 4,800,000 
			 2002-03 14,540,000 21,230,000 35,770,000 
			 2003-04 13,402,500 42,893,613 56,296,113 
			 2004-05 11,445,500 20,992,387 32,437,887 
			 2005-06 12,213,334 31,812,548 44,025,882 
			 2006-07 10,181,334 19,780,333 29,961,667 
			 2007-08 6,906,333 3,991,000 10,897,333 
			 2008-09 1,274,084 0 1,274,084 
			 Total 71,883,085 143,579,881 215,462,966 
			  Notes: 1. Financial projections are accurate as of December 2006. 2. Changes in status of CoVEs could delay payments across financial years. 3. Removal/withdrawal of status will reduce the total cost of the programme.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the  (a) security and  (b) non-security element of the Basra equivalent of the Baghdad Security Plan; whether security personnel will carry out the non-security element of the plan; how many Iraqi civilian jobs will be created as a result of the plan; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: No estimate has been made of the security costs of Op. Sinbad as this role is conducted by deployed military resources with no additional cost incurred.
	The UK has allocated some £2 million for quick impact projects and some $60 million of US administered Commanders Emergency Response Programme funds has been allocated for the non-security element of Op. Sinbad and further development activities in Basrah. To date, some 7,080 locally employed civilians have been employed in support of the non security element of Op. Sinbad. We are not able to estimate how many Iraqi civilian jobs will be created as a result of Op. Sinbad but we would expect our efforts to stimulate the local economy thereby creating significant opportunities for local Baswaris, particularly over the medium to long-term.

Armed Forces: Casualty Reporting

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department takes to make publicly available information on the number of British  (a) casualties and  (b) fatalities incurred in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan since the commencement of operations.

Adam Ingram: The MOD is committed to openly publishing statistics on the number of service casualties on operations. Information on casualties and fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan is published on the MOD website:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets
	Data is published for Iraq since the commencement of operations in March 2003 and for Afghanistan since 1 January 2006. Work is ongoing to ascertain whether casualty data for Afghanistan pre-2006 is sufficiently robust to enable figures to be published in the same format as for Iraq; I will write to inform the hon. Member when this work is complete. Casualty data on the MOD website is updated on a two weekly basis, two weeks in arrears.
	Details of fatalities are released to the media following an incident and updates are made to the website above, which has lists of UK military fatalities from both theatres.

QinetiQ

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many goats have died as a result of experiments at QinetiQ Alverstoke in each year since 2000.

Adam Ingram: The number of goats that have died during the experiments and have been humanely killed following exposure to experiments at QinetiQ Alverstoke in each year since 2000 are detailed in the following table. The number of procedures in each year is also presented.
	
		
			   Number of goats that died during an experiment  Number of goats humanely killed following exposure to experiments  Number of procedures 
			 2006(1) 0 8 57 
			 2005 0 20 64 
			 2004 0 0 27 
			 2003 2 16 75 
			 2002 2 5 50 
			 2001 0 20 53 
			 (1) Year to 31 October 2006

Empty Properties

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of empty public sector  (a) residential properties and  (b) commercial and industrial properties in each Government office region in England in April.

Yvette Cooper: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The number of vacant public sector dwellings in each government office region in England, as at 1 April 2006, is tabled as follows. These figures are for all vacant dwellings, including dwellings that have been empty for less than six months, some for less than one month. Totals may not equal the sum of individual region's figures, due to rounding.
	
		
			  Government office region  Local authority  Registered social landlord  'Other' public sector  Total public sector 
			 North East 4,360 3,240 920 8,500 
			 North West 6,300 7,950 920 15,200 
			 Yorks and Humber 6,140 2,880 410 9,400 
			 East Midlands 4,290 1,240 610 6,100 
			 West Midlands 3,920 4,550 170 8,600 
			 East 3,110 1,870 1,050 6,000 
			 London 10,110 4,410 1,150 15,700 
			 South East 2,780 2,470 1,280 6,500 
			 South West 1,890 1,570 840 4,300 
			 England 42,900 30,200 7,300 80,400 
			  Sources: 1. Communities and Local Government's Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA) for LA and 'other' public sector tenures. Data are provisional and do not take account of Audit Commission's Comprehensive Performance Assessment process. 2. Housing Corporation's Regulatory Statistical Return for RSL tenure. 
		
	
	 (b) Information on the number of vacant public sector commercial and industrial properties is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many completed sales through  (a) shared ownership and  (b) key worker schemes were funded by (i) the Government and (ii) the Housing Corporation in each year from 1991-92 to 1996-97.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows completed shared ownership sales by housing associations funded by Government through Housing Corporation Approved Development Programme (ADP) and Local Authority Social Housing Grant (LASHG) for each year 1991-92 to 1996-97. There were no other publicly funded shared ownership schemes.
	
		
			  Shared ownership completions 
			   ADP  LASHG 
			 1991-92 1,065 364 
			 1992-93 3,517 295 
			 1993-94 7,990 247 
			 1994-95 11,112 492 
			 1995-96 10,471 622 
			 1996-97 6,448 629 
			  Source: Housing Corporation 
		
	
	There were no specific key worker schemes over this time period.

Housing

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the void turnaround time was for  (a) council flats and  (b) housing association properties in Bristol in each year since 2001.

Yvette Cooper: The average void re-let times for council homes in Bristol since 2001 are as follows. The data is collected in respect of the whole stock. Separate figures are not available for flats.
	
		
			   Days 
			 2000-01 41 
			 2001-02 38 
			 2002-03 38 
			 2003-04 40 
			 2004-05 27 
			 2005-06 24 
		
	
	The average void re-let times for housing association properties in Bristol are as follows. Data is not available for the period 2000-01 to 2003-04.
	
		
			   Days 
			 2004-05 63 
			 2005-06 53

Local Government

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Tamworth Borough Council received from central government in real terms in each of the past six years.

Phil Woolas: The central Government grant received by Tamworth borough council expressed in terms of 2005-06 prices in each of the past six years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2005-06 prices (£000) 
			 2000-01 5,392 
			 2001-02 5,528 
			 2002-03 5,537 
			 2003-04 6,426 
			 2004-05 5,730 
			 2005-06 6,523 
			  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) returns and HM Treasury GDP deflators 
		
	
	The real terms figures have been calculated using the latest GDP deflators.
	Government grant is defined here as the sum of specific grants inside aggregate external finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services), formula grant (revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and police grant) and Greater London Authority (GLA) grant.
	Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changing local authority responsibilities. The information provided excludes capital funding and funding for local authorities' housing management responsibilities. The information also excludes those grant programmes, such as European funding, where authorities are simply one of the recipients of funding paid towards an area.

Local Government

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on  (a) electricity and  (b) gas by each local authority in each year since 2001; what the average expenditure on electricity and gas was by local authorities in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: he information requested is not available for all local authorities in England. The England estimates of local authority expenditure on  (a) electricity and  (b) gas and other energy costs are tabled as follows.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Energy costs 
			   Electricity  Gas and other( 1) 
			 2001-02 304,002 151,698 
			 2002-03 302,066 201,290 
			 2003-04 342,258 187,822 
			 2004-05 361,070 222,481 
			 2005-06 432,081 305,133 
			 (1) Figures collected for 2001-02 were for gas only while from 2002-03 onwards figures include gas and other energy costs. As 2002-03 was the first year of the new definition, the figure for that year may be less reliable.  Source: Communities and Local Government Revenue Outturn (RO) suite of forms—Subjective Analysis Return (SAR).

Newcastle City Council Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what population figures for the City of Newcastle upon Tyne were used to calculate Newcastle City Council's Revenue Support Grant for  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06; and what population projections will be used for the grant in each of the next three financial years.

Phil Woolas: Mid-year population estimates published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) were used in the calculation of formula grant in 2003-04 to 2005-06. The revised mid-2001 and mid-2002 population estimates were incorporated through amending reports. The following table shows the population figures for the City of Newcastle upon Tyne that were used:
	
		
			  Settlement year  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Population data used ( 1) Mid-2001 ( 1) Mid-2002 ( 1) Mid-2003 
			 Resident population 266,241 266,012 266,589 
			 Population of working age 161,534 162,318 163,934 
			 Resident population under 18 years of age 55,565 55,086 54,477 
			 Resident population aged 3 to 15 40,868 40,154 39,350 
			 Resident population aged 13 to 19 25,373 25,807 25,699 
			 Resident population aged 18 to 64 167,988 168,543 169,779 
			 Resident population aged 65 and over 42,688 42,383 42,333 
			 Resident population aged 75 to 84 15,261 15,373 15,395 
			 Resident population aged 85 and over 5,018 4,927 4,883 
			 (1 )Estimates  Note:  Unrounded population figures are used in settlement calculations, though ONS publish rounded population data.  Source:  ONS 
		
	
	Following consultation, the Government adopted the policy of multi-year formula grant settlements from 2006-07. The use of population projections as the key measure of population was a part of this change. The first multi-year formula grant settlement under that policy concerns the financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08.
	For the 2006-07 settlement, the best available population projections were the ONS 2003-based sub-national population projections. From this dataset, the projected population for 2006 were used.
	As 2007-08 is the second year of a multi-year settlement and was calculated at the same time as the 2006-07 settlement, the provisional 2007-08 settlement also uses the 2003-based sub-national population projections. From this dataset, the projected population for 2007 are used. The Government are currently consulting on the 2007-08 provisional settlement and will take into account all relevant representations made during the consultation period before making the final settlement.
	For the 2008-09 to 2010-11 settlements, consistent with the Government's policy on multi-year formula grant settlements, we intend to use the ONS's 2004-based sub-national population projections. We intend to use the projected population for 2008, 2009 and 2010 in each of the respective settlements. The Government will consult fully with local authorities before making these settlements.

Recruitment

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2006,  Official Report, column 532W, on departmental staff, how many applications the Department has received for the position of Director General Equalities; and when she expects the position to be filled.

Angela Smith: 53 candidates applied for the position of Director General of Equalities. Appointment procedures are in the final stages and it is expected that the position will be filled in the new year.

West Yorkshire Pension Fund

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the assets of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund.

Phil Woolas: The market value of the assets held by the West Yorkshire Pension Fund of the Local Government Pension Scheme as at 31 March 2006 was £6.6 billion. The data is derived from the annual return submitted to the Department by the West Yorkshire Pension Fund Authority.